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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. press — to push
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bark — to shout
  8. scale — size or range
  9. pop — soda
  10. fall — the season
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. press — a publisher
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bat — the animal
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fall — to drop
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. scale — in music
  24. bark — of a tree

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