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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. key — the most important part
  3. mine — for digging
  4. press — a publisher
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. key — for a lock
  7. key — in music
  8. press — to push
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bark — to shout
  11. file — a line of people
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mark — a trace
  14. scale — in music
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. file — a document
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. press — newspapers
  21. scale — size or range
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. file — a tool
  24. bark — of a tree

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