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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. snap — to click
  3. track — a song
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bark — to shout
  11. press — to push
  12. track — a path
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. foot — a measure
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. press — newspapers
  22. track — to keep track
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. content — the amount

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