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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. plane — a tool
  3. march — the month
  4. spring — of water
  5. press — to push
  6. spring — the season
  7. press — newspapers
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. scale — in music
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. march — music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. march — the month
  17. bark — to shout
  18. scale — size or range

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