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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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 — a dog's sound
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. wound — an injury
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. race — humankind
  6. press — to push
  7. charge — electricity
  8. bark — to shout
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rest — what's left
  11. charge — a price
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. rest — what's left
  14. perch — the fish
  15. rest — a break
  16. press — a publisher
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. charge — in control
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  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