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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: press · key · snap · bark · drill · rash · coach · chip

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. key — for a lock
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. rash — hasty
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. snap — to click
  10. drill — a practice
  11. chip — to eat
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. rash — a series
  14. press — to push
  15. drill — army training
  16. bark — to shout
  17. drill — the tool
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. key — the most important part
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. key — in music
  22. press — a publisher
  23. chip — for betting
  24. press — newspapers

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