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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 120 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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. chair — a leader
  3. tube — the underground
  4. spring — the season
  5. press — to push
  6. spring — a coil
  7. press — a publisher
  8. tube — a container
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bark — to shout
  11. can — to be able to
  12. press — newspapers
  13. net — in sport
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. can — a tin
  18. spring — of water
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. net — for catching
  21. can — a tin
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. net — after costs
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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