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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 120 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bank — for money
  4. press — to push
  5. vault — a safe
  6. clip — a video
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. mate — a partner
  9. kid — to tease
  10. press — newspapers
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. pound — a weight
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bank — of a river
  19. kid — child
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. press — a publisher
  22. bank — for money
  23. mate — to breed
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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