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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. race — a contest
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. row — a line
  9. race — humankind
  10. cell — a phone
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. march — the month
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bark — to shout
  16. race — the arms race
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. march — music
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. march — the month
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. rule — a law

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