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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. vault — a safe
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. press — to push
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. bass — the fish
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. pound — a weight
  13. rule — government
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — newspapers
  16. rule — a law
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. bass — low music
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bark — to shout
  23. fork — in a road
  24. plane — a tool

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