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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 124 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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. object — to protest
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — government
  7. spring — of water
  8. object — a thing
  9. ground — a position
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. ground — crushed
  12. object — an aim
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bank — of a river
  15. spring — a coil
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bank — for money
  19. net — after costs
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bank — for money
  22. spring — the season
  23. bark — to shout
  24. net — in sport

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