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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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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 · bore · last · object · saw · track · bark · straw

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. press — a publisher
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bore — to drill
  6. last — final
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. last — finally
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. object — an aim
  14. press — to push
  15. saw — the tool
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. last — to go on
  20. track — a path
  21. object — a thing
  22. bore — to tire
  23. press — newspapers
  24. straw — dry grass

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