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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. rest — a break
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bark — to shout
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. cell — in biology
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. fall — to drop
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rest — what's left
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rest — what's left
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. band — a music group
  20. fall — the season
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — government
  24. ruler — a monarch

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