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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: bark · mark · tube · lie · roll · rule · court · bat

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. rule — government
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — a container
  8. court — for sport
  9. bat — the animal
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. lie — to recline
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. mark — a grade
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. bark — to shout
  19. court — of law
  20. roll — a list
  21. rule — a law
  22. court — of a king
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. roll — a cake

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