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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. rule — government
  3. ground — a position
  4. mug — a cup
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. rule — a law
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. band — a music group
  9. mug — to rob
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. band — a ring
  12. root — the cause
  13. scale — size or range
  14. root — of a word
  15. ground — crushed
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. root — of a plant
  18. ground — the earth
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bark — to shout
  24. scale — in music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com