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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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468
Word bank
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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. scale — size or range
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. chair — a leader
  7. press — newspapers
  8. dip — to sink
  9. kid — child
  10. content — happy
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. bark — to shout
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — in music
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — the amount
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. press — a publisher
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. kid — to tease
  24. press — to push

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