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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: land · wake · press · face · shower · calf · staff · bark

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. face — to confront
  3. press — a publisher
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. land — to come down
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. land — ground
  10. staff — a stick
  11. bark — to shout
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. shower — to wash
  14. face — to point toward
  15. land — a country
  16. staff — employees
  17. shower — rain
  18. wake — a trail
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — to push
  21. face — part of the head
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. staff — employees

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