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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. bass — the fish
  5. row — a line
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. rule — government
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. scale — in music
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rule — a law
  14. lie — to recline
  15. row — to paddle
  16. field — a subject
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bass — low music
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. field — farmland
  21. ground — a position
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — to shout
  24. field — for sport

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