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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. track — a path
  3. ground — a position
  4. press — newspapers
  5. bear — the animal
  6. kick — in football
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bear — the animal
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bat — the animal
  14. press — a publisher
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. track — a song
  17. row — a line
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. press — to push
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. row — to paddle
  23. track — to keep track
  24. ground — the earth

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