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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. wound — an injury
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. charge — electricity
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bore — to drill
  7. wound — an injury
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bass — low music
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bass — the fish
  13. field — for sport
  14. press — a publisher
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. press — newspapers
  19. field — farmland
  20. charge — in control
  21. charge — a price
  22. field — a subject
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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