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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. ground — a position
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. staff — employees
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. rule — a law
  7. track — a song
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bark — to shout
  10. track — to keep track
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — crushed
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. staff — a stick
  16. rule — government
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. track — a path
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cold — an illness
  24. staff — employees

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