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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. foot — a measure
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bark — to shout
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. race — a contest
  8. press — a publisher
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. race — humankind
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. press — to push
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. press — newspapers
  18. race — the arms race
  19. pass — a permit
  20. kick — in football
  21. mate — to breed
  22. row — to paddle
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. foot — part of the body

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