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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 · fork · deal · mate · row · bark

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. mate — a friend
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. press — a publisher
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. press — to push
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. deal — to handle
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mate — to breed
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bark — to shout
  16. row — to paddle
  17. press — newspapers
  18. row — a line

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