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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. ball — a great time
  4. last — to go on
  5. firm — decided
  6. bark — to shout
  7. ball — a dance
  8. firm — steady
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fine — all right
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. cold — not warm
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. press — to push
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. press — a publisher
  22. last — final
  23. firm — a company
  24. last — finally

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