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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. rule — government
  3. ground — a position
  4. rule — a law
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. ground — crushed
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bark — to shout
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. jam — a tight spot

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