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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 116 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — government
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. bark — to shout
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. rash — a series
  10. shower — to wash
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. kid — child
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. shower — rain
  19. kid — to tease
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a great time

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