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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. court — of a king
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — a line
  8. stock — shares
  9. mine — for digging
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. rule — government
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. rule — a law
  15. deal — to handle
  16. court — of law
  17. stock — goods
  18. court — for sport
  19. bark — to shout
  20. row — to paddle
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. rush — hurry
  24. bark — of a tree

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