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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. saw — the tool
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. bound — certain
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bound — tied together
  12. band — a ring
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. hand — in cards
  15. press — to push
  16. band — a music group
  17. bound — obliged
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bark — to shout
  22. saw — the tool
  23. pitch — completely
  24. press — newspapers

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