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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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Word bank
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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: bark · firm · kick · press · pop · file

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. pop — music
  4. bark — to shout
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. firm — steady
  7. file — a tool
  8. firm — decided
  9. kick — in football
  10. press — newspapers
  11. pop — to visit
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. firm — a company
  15. pop — soda
  16. file — a document
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. kick — a thrill

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