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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. ground — the earth
  3. rule — government
  4. lie — to recline
  5. land — to come down
  6. rule — a law
  7. field — farmland
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. land — ground
  11. kid — to tease
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. key — the most important part
  14. ground — crushed
  15. field — a subject
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. land — a country
  19. ground — a position
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. field — for sport
  24. key — in music

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