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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: bark · press · shower · chair · game · key · rest · roll

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. rest — what's left
  3. roll — a cake
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. key — for a lock
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. rest — what's left
  8. press — to push
  9. rest — a break
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. shower — rain
  13. bark — to shout
  14. game — wild animals
  15. press — newspapers
  16. key — in music
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. chair — a leader
  23. roll — a list
  24. game — a match

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