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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. jam — to spread on bread
  2. bat — the animal
  3. key — the most important part
  4. key — in music
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bark — to shout
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. deal — to handle
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bore — to drill
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. press — to push
  21. key — for a lock
  22. bore — to tire
  23. wind — moving air
  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