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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 124 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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. drill — army training
  3. bank — for money
  4. rule — a law
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bank — for money
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — in biology
  13. drill — a practice
  14. wind — moving air
  15. field — a subject
  16. stem — to come from
  17. cell — a phone
  18. field — for sport
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. field — farmland
  21. bank — of a river
  22. drill — the tool
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. rule — to rule out

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