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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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. shower — to wash
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. rest — a break
  6. press — to push
  7. fall — to drop
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. rest — what's left
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. fall — the season
  13. press — a publisher
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bark — to shout
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. hand — in cards
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. press — newspapers
  23. hand — help
  24. wake — before a funeral

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