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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 · lie · rule · land · pit · racket · saw · row

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. row — to paddle
  4. rule — government
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — to shout
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. land — to come down
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. row — a line
  16. lie — to recline
  17. pit — in a race
  18. saw — the tool
  19. land — a country
  20. rule — a law
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. land — ground
  23. saw — the tool
  24. pit — a hole

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