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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. press — to push
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. bank — for money
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. press — newspapers
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bank — for money
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — the tool
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bank — of a river
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. field — a subject
  22. squash — the sport
  23. bat — the animal
  24. squash — to crush

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