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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. ball — a dance
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. snap — to click
  6. bark — to shout
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. press — to push
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. press — a publisher
  17. cold — an illness
  18. prune — to trim
  19. perch — the fish
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. branch — a division
  23. cold — not warm
  24. branch — of a bank

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