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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. saw — the tool
  4. drill — the tool
  5. land — ground
  6. mug — a face
  7. press — to push
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — newspapers
  10. bark — to shout
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. saw — the tool
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — a practice
  16. hand — help
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. land — a country
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. scale — in music
  22. land — to come down
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mug — to rob

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