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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. shower — to wash
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — the most important part
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. press — a publisher
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — to shout
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. press — to push
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. stand — to bear
  14. last — to go on
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. key — in music
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. shower — rain
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. stand — for spectators

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