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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 120 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rule — government
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bark — to shout
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. rock — music
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. court — of a king
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. court — for sport
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. board — to get on
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. court — of law
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. board — a committee
  24. rock — a stone

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