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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 120 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. cue — for pool
  4. sharp — clever
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. press — a publisher
  8. row — to paddle
  9. clip — to cut
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cue — a signal
  15. clip — a video
  16. press — newspapers
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. row — a line
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. bark — to shout
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. sharp — with an edge

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