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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rule — government
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bark — to shout
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — a law
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. face — part of the head
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. rest — what's left
  19. mine — for digging
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — to confront
  24. rest — a break

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