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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 120 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: trunk · press · bark · pop · spell · fork · march · lie

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. spell — a short time
  3. press — a publisher
  4. march — the month
  5. spell — letters
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. bark — to shout
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. press — to push
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. fork — in a road
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. pop — soda
  21. pop — music
  22. march — the month
  23. press — newspapers
  24. spell — magic

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