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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. clip — a video
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. shower — rain
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. press — to push
  8. net — in sport
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. net — for catching
  11. bark — to shout
  12. board — to get on
  13. pop — soda
  14. press — newspapers
  15. hand — in cards
  16. pop — music
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. press — a publisher
  19. net — after costs
  20. shower — to wash
  21. hand — help
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — for paper
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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