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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: toast · sharp · squash · ground · bark · hide · rule · bound

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. ground — crushed
  3. squash — to crush
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. squash — the sport
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — certain
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bark — to shout
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — the earth
  17. toast — bread
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. rule — a law
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. toast — the most admired

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