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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. ground — a position
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. march — music
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. ball — a great time
  7. present — a gift
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. rule — a law
  11. march — the month
  12. ball — a dance
  13. present — the time now
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. bark — to shout
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. cold — an illness
  20. ground — the earth
  21. cold — not warm
  22. rule — government
  23. ground — crushed
  24. march — the month

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