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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. cold — not warm
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. cold — an illness
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — government
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. squash — to crush
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. squash — the sport
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. vault — a safe
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. ground — a position

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