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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. root — of a word
  4. press — newspapers
  5. cell — a phone
  6. swing — music
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. swing — to play on
  11. field — a subject
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. field — farmland
  15. press — a publisher
  16. pass — a permit
  17. rash — a series
  18. cell — in biology
  19. rash — hasty
  20. press — to push
  21. root — the cause
  22. field — for sport
  23. root — of a plant
  24. swing — in golf

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