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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: leaves · stick · tube · ground · bark · mate · rule · cold

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. ground — the earth
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. tube — a container
  6. rule — government
  7. bark — to shout
  8. ground — a position
  9. rule — a law
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. mate — a partner
  12. cold — not warm
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mate — to breed
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — the underground
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. mate — a friend

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