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

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. band — a ring
  9. degree — temperature
  10. press — to push
  11. degree — an amount
  12. press — newspapers
  13. bark — to shout
  14. degree — from a university
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. press — a publisher
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. band — a music group

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