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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. rule — government
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. staff — employees
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. stand — to bear
  9. staff — employees
  10. bark — to shout
  11. rule — a law
  12. scale — size or range
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. ground — the earth
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bat — the animal
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. cell — a phone
  22. scale — in music
  23. ground — crushed
  24. bat — for baseball

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