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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: press · firm · bark · scale · hand · chip · march · wake

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. chip — to eat
  3. press — to push
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. firm — a company
  9. press — a publisher
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — size or range
  12. march — music
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. march — the month
  15. press — newspapers
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. bark — to shout
  18. firm — steady
  19. firm — decided
  20. hand — in cards
  21. wake — a trail
  22. chip — for betting
  23. hand — help
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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