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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 function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — to shout
  8. press — to push
  9. key — the most important part
  10. content — happy
  11. content — the amount
  12. chest — of your body
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bat — the animal
  15. kid — to tease
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kid — child
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. key — for a lock
  20. chest — a box
  21. press — a publisher
  22. saw — the tool
  23. key — in music
  24. bat — for baseball

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