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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. press — a publisher
  7. cold — an illness
  8. field — farmland
  9. press — newspapers
  10. object — an aim
  11. bark — to shout
  12. field — a subject
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. object — a thing
  15. chip — for betting
  16. mark — a trace
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. field — for sport
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. press — to push
  22. object — to protest
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. chip — in a computer

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