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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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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: content · ruler · bark · rule · bass · club · nail · ground

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bass — the fish
  6. club — a group
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ground — a position
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — government
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bass — low music
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. content — the amount
  20. club — for golf
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. bark — to shout
  24. ground — the earth

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