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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. net — after costs
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bark — to shout
  7. net — for catching
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. march — the month
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. march — the month
  17. track — a path
  18. press — to push
  19. march — music
  20. net — in sport
  21. dip — to sink
  22. track — to keep track
  23. press — newspapers
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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