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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. press — to push
  4. scale — size or range
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bark — to shout
  7. scale — in music
  8. pop — to visit
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. pop — music
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. pound — a weight
  16. cap — a lid
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. press — newspapers
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. rash — a series
  24. pop — soda

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