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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. face — to point toward
  3. prune — to trim
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. face — to confront
  8. ground — the earth
  9. press — to push
  10. press — a publisher
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. ground — a position
  14. bark — to shout
  15. face — part of the head
  16. race — a contest
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. race — the arms race
  21. press — newspapers
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. race — humankind
  24. tube — a container

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