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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bark — to shout
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rule — government
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. chest — a box
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. rule — a law
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. vault — a safe
  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