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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. spell — a short time
  4. press — to push
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. spell — letters
  7. bulb — for light
  8. swing — in golf
  9. spell — magic
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bulb — for light
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. swing — music
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. press — newspapers
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. degree — an amount

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