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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. court — for sport
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. pitch — completely
  5. bound — tied together
  6. court — of law
  7. bound — certain
  8. last — to go on
  9. fork — in a road
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. court — of a king
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. rule — a law
  18. bound — obliged
  19. rule — government
  20. last — finally
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. wound — an injury
  23. last — final
  24. bark — of a tree

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