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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. press — a publisher
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. rash — hasty
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. press — to push
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. degree — temperature
  10. press — newspapers
  11. rash — a series
  12. bark — to shout
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. craft — a skill
  17. branch — a division
  18. craft — boats
  19. degree — from a university
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. degree — an amount
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. wave — with your hand

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