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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. press — a publisher
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. pound — a weight
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. press — newspapers
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bark — to shout
  21. mine — for digging
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. lean — thin
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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