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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.

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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: wave · press · season · kid · ground · snap · mug · bark

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. season — of the year
  3. kid — to tease
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. ground — the earth
  7. season — in sport
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. press — newspapers
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. ground — a position
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. press — to push
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bark — to shout
  19. press — a publisher
  20. mug — a face
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. snap — to click
  23. kid — child
  24. mug — to rob

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