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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mate · court · wake · press · bark · game · content · fan

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. mate — a friend
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. game — wild animals
  7. press — a publisher
  8. wake — a trail
  9. mate — a partner
  10. court — of law
  11. mate — to breed
  12. content — the amount
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. game — a match
  15. press — newspapers
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. press — to push
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. content — happy
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. fan — a supporter

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