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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 · bark · saw · cap · track · leaves · row · mouse

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. cap — of ice
  3. saw — the tool
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. row — a line
  6. press — a publisher
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. press — newspapers
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — to paddle
  15. saw — the tool
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. track — a path
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. track — a song
  22. bark — to shout
  23. track — to keep track
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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