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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · hand · rock · club · rule · cold · bark · cabinet

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. club — a group
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rule — a law
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. club — for golf
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. land — to come down
  11. club — for dancing
  12. hand — in cards
  13. land — a country
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rock — a stone
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. land — ground
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. hand — help
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. bark — to shout

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