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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. march — music
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. march — the month
  6. root — of a plant
  7. roll — a cake
  8. march — the month
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — in sport
  11. press — to push
  12. kick — in football
  13. root — the cause
  14. press — newspapers
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. root — of a word
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bark — to shout
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a list
  22. file — a document
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. press — a publisher

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