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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. band — a music group
  4. rock — music
  5. rule — a law
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. row — to paddle
  9. band — a ring
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bark — to shout
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. row — a line
  18. rock — a stone
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. date — the fruit
  22. squash — to crush
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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