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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. press — to push
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. file — a line of people
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. chair — a leader
  9. bark — to shout
  10. kid — to tease
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. press — a publisher
  13. firm — a company
  14. press — newspapers
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. kid — child
  18. firm — steady
  19. firm — decided
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. present — there
  22. present — a gift
  23. present — the time now
  24. chair — a professorship

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