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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. press — to push
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. press — a publisher
  9. last — final
  10. stock — shares
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. last — finally
  13. press — newspapers
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. spring — a coil
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lean — thin
  21. bark — to shout
  22. last — to go on
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — a soup base

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