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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — for pool
  5. mine — for digging
  6. press — newspapers
  7. last — finally
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. swing — in golf
  11. spring — a coil
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. cue — a signal
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. press — a publisher
  18. swing — music
  19. last — final
  20. swing — to play on
  21. sharp — clever
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bark — of a tree
  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