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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · key · ground · swing · bark · chair · press · craft

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. ground — crushed
  6. craft — boats
  7. swing — in golf
  8. chair — a leader
  9. key — for a lock
  10. game — wild animals
  11. press — newspapers
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bark — to shout
  14. ground — the earth
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. key — the most important part
  18. key — in music
  19. ground — a position
  20. press — to push
  21. craft — a skill
  22. press — a publisher
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. swing — music

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