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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 116 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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. stand — to bear
  7. key — for a lock
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. press — a publisher
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. key — in music
  16. field — farmland
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. field — a subject
  21. key — the most important part
  22. press — newspapers
  23. field — for sport
  24. press — to push

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