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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: file · kick · press · last · bark · straw · stem · foot

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. file — a line of people
  4. last — to go on
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. last — finally
  7. last — final
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bark — to shout
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. press — newspapers
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. press — a publisher
  20. press — to push
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — the bottom

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