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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. swing — in golf
  4. net — in sport
  5. row — a line
  6. press — newspapers
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. press — a publisher
  9. mine — for digging
  10. row — to paddle
  11. key — for a lock
  12. swing — music
  13. press — to push
  14. snap — to click
  15. key — the most important part
  16. net — after costs
  17. swing — to play on
  18. net — for catching
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bark — to shout
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. key — in music

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