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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. scale — in music
  3. ground — a position
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. squash — the sport
  6. object — to protest
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. scale — size or range
  11. press — to push
  12. tube — a container
  13. object — an aim
  14. ground — crushed
  15. squash — to crush
  16. press — newspapers
  17. object — a thing
  18. press — a publisher
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bark — to shout
  21. last — finally
  22. tube — the underground
  23. last — to go on
  24. ground — the earth

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