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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. court — of law
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. court — for sport
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. chest — of your body
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. chest — a box
  10. spring — a coil
  11. court — of a king
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rule — a law
  15. spring — of water
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. wind — moving air
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — to shout
  21. squash — to crush
  22. spring — the season
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. rule — government

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