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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cap — a lid
  4. charge — a price
  5. cap — a hat
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. press — to push
  11. press — newspapers
  12. cap — of ice
  13. charge — in control
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bark — to shout
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. march — the month
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. press — a publisher
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wound — an injury
  23. charge — electricity
  24. march — the month

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