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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. content — the amount
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. staff — employees
  5. press — a publisher
  6. row — to paddle
  7. cap — of ice
  8. staff — a stick
  9. clip — for paper
  10. press — newspapers
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bark — to shout
  14. pop — music
  15. row — a line
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — a hat
  19. pop — soda
  20. content — happy
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. staff — employees
  23. clip — a video
  24. press — to push

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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