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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. rule — government
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — finally
  7. scale — in music
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. season — in sport
  10. mine — for digging
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bark — to shout
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. season — of the year
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. last — final
  24. rule — a law

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