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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 · mine · rule · cold · root · bark · bound · file

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. bound — certain
  3. file — a tool
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. root — of a plant
  6. toast — bread
  7. file — a document
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. file — a line of people
  10. mine — for digging
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. cold — an illness
  14. root — the cause
  15. bound — tied together
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. root — of a word
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bound — obliged
  24. rule — government

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