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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: key · cold · track · press · race · march · bark · staff

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. key — in music
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. staff — a stick
  9. march — the month
  10. track — a song
  11. march — music
  12. staff — employees
  13. race — the arms race
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a path
  16. press — newspapers
  17. race — a contest
  18. key — for a lock
  19. bark — to shout
  20. march — the month
  21. race — humankind
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. key — the most important part
  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