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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. press — to push
  3. wake — a trail
  4. press — newspapers
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. rash — a series
  7. press — a publisher
  8. plane — a tool
  9. land — ground
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. rash — hasty
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. land — a country
  15. march — the month
  16. land — to come down
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. bark — to shout
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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