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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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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: fall · press · wound · mark · can · bark · chair · game

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. chair — a leader
  3. fall — to drop
  4. press — a publisher
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mark — a grade
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. fall — the season
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — a tin
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. mark — a trace
  16. press — to push
  17. can — to be able to
  18. game — a match
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. press — newspapers
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a professorship

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