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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. ball — a great time
  3. rule — a law
  4. fine — all right
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rule — government
  7. march — the month
  8. ball — a dance
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. march — the month
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. stem — to come from
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. bark — to shout
  21. march — music
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. stem — of a plant

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