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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. prune — to trim
  3. drill — army training
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. drill — the tool
  8. press — a publisher
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. content — happy
  12. press — newspapers
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cap — a lid
  16. race — humankind
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — of ice
  20. prune — to trim
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. perch — the fish
  24. content — the amount

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