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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  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. press — newspapers
  2. pop — soda
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. swing — to play on
  5. tear — to rip
  6. swing — in golf
  7. field — a subject
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bark — to shout
  11. swing — music
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. pop — music
  15. press — to push
  16. field — for sport
  17. kick — in football
  18. pop — to visit
  19. field — farmland
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. kick — a thrill
  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