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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. press — a publisher
  4. spring — a coil
  5. track — a path
  6. spring — the season
  7. game — a match
  8. press — newspapers
  9. track — a song
  10. rash — hasty
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. track — to keep track
  14. bass — low music
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. rash — a series
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. press — to push
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bass — the fish
  24. spring — of water

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