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

Word bank: wind · press · bark · wound · kid · rule

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rule — a law
  7. bark — to shout
  8. press — a publisher
  9. kid — child
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. press — newspapers
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wound — an injury
  14. press — to push
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. rule — government

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