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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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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: drill · ground · fall · present · rush · rule · bat · bark

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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. bat — the animal
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bark — to shout
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. fall — the season
  10. present — there
  11. drill — a practice
  12. ground — the earth
  13. fall — to drop
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. present — a gift
  17. rush — hurry
  18. present — the time now
  19. ground — a position
  20. drill — the tool
  21. fall — to drop
  22. drill — army training
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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