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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. last — finally
  3. drill — a practice
  4. degree — from a university
  5. staff — employees
  6. drill — army training
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. capital — money
  9. last — final
  10. last — to go on
  11. capital — a city
  12. mug — a cup
  13. degree — an amount
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. staff — employees
  17. press — newspapers
  18. staff — a stick
  19. mug — a face
  20. degree — temperature
  21. press — a publisher
  22. bark — to shout
  23. drill — the tool
  24. mug — to rob

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