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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 124 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: press · bear · straw · fork · cold · bark

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. press — newspapers
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bear — the animal
  8. press — to push
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bark — to shout
  13. press — a publisher
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bear — the animal

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