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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. drill — a practice
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. rest — a break
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rule — government
  16. drill — the tool
  17. bark — to shout
  18. cell — a phone
  19. last — final
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bat — the animal
  22. drill — army training
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. rest — what's left

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