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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. last — to go on
  3. march — the month
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — crushed
  6. root — the cause
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. press — to push
  10. march — music
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. root — of a word
  15. press — a publisher
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. march — the month
  18. ground — the earth
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. last — final
  21. root — of a plant
  22. last — finally
  23. bark — to shout
  24. press — newspapers

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