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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. season — in sport
  5. rest — a break
  6. spell — letters
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. spell — magic
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. season — of the year
  15. row — a line
  16. bark — to shout
  17. spell — a short time
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — low music
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. row — to paddle
  24. rule — a law

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