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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rock — a stone
  4. roll — a cake
  5. fine — high quality
  6. rule — a law
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. bass — low music
  9. fine — all right
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bark — to shout
  13. rule — government
  14. rock — music
  15. rash — hasty
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. chest — a box
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. roll — a list
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. rash — a series

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