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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. march — music
  7. bark — to shout
  8. last — to go on
  9. march — the month
  10. last — finally
  11. board — a committee
  12. march — the month
  13. pound — a weight
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. press — newspapers
  17. branch — a division
  18. board — to get on
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. press — a publisher
  23. last — final
  24. branch — of a bank

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