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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. swing — to play on
  3. drill — army training
  4. press — a publisher
  5. file — a tool
  6. degree — an amount
  7. swing — music
  8. drill — a practice
  9. degree — temperature
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. last — to go on
  12. press — newspapers
  13. degree — from a university
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. press — to push
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. file — a document
  19. swing — in golf
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. file — a line of people
  22. last — finally
  23. drill — the tool
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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