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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. track — to keep track
  7. ball — a dance
  8. squash — to crush
  9. tube — a container
  10. squash — the sport
  11. tube — the underground
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bark — to shout
  19. fine — all right
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — a publisher
  22. track — a song
  23. fine — high quality
  24. track — a path

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