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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — to shout
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. file — a tool
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — to recline
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. rule — a law
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. game — a match
  18. file — a line of people
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rule — government
  23. cell — a phone
  24. file — a document

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