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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bark — to shout
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. branch — a division
  9. cold — an illness
  10. saw — the tool
  11. press — to push
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — newspapers
  16. saw — the tool
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. current — electric
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. current — of water
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. current — happening now

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