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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: march · tube · firm · cold · bark · press · drill · fine

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. firm — a company
  5. press — a publisher
  6. tube — the underground
  7. drill — army training
  8. march — the month
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. tube — a container
  12. drill — a practice
  13. press — newspapers
  14. firm — steady
  15. bark — to shout
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. drill — the tool
  19. march — the month
  20. press — to push
  21. march — music
  22. firm — decided
  23. fine — all right
  24. cold — an illness

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