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

Word bank: hide · land · chest · nail · bark · deal · court · rule

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. rule — a law
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. bark — to shout
  5. court — of a king
  6. chest — of your body
  7. land — a country
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. rule — government
  10. court — of law
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. land — ground
  14. chest — of your body
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. chest — a box
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. court — for sport
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. land — to come down
  24. deal — an agreement

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