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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 120 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. branch — a division
  3. squash — to crush
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. present — the time now
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. present — a gift
  9. bark — to shout
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. rule — a law
  12. spring — the season
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. row — to paddle
  15. squash — the sport
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. spring — of water
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. present — there
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. spring — a coil
  23. row — a line
  24. bark — of a tree

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