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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. press — a publisher
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. press — newspapers
  7. tear — from crying
  8. march — the month
  9. spring — the season
  10. tear — to rip
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. tube — the underground
  15. march — music
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. kid — to tease
  19. march — the month
  20. spring — of water
  21. press — to push
  22. tube — a container
  23. fork — in a road
  24. kid — child

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