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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 120 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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. prune — to trim
  7. land — to come down
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bear — the animal
  10. land — a country
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. cold — not warm
  15. prune — to trim
  16. ground — a position
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ground — crushed
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. land — ground
  22. bark — to shout
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bear — the animal

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