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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. court — of law
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. file — a document
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. rule — a law
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. court — for sport
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. bark — to shout
  13. file — a tool
  14. rock — music
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. file — a line of people
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rule — government
  21. rock — a stone
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. court — of a king
  24. stem — to come from

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