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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: face · board · chest · press · bore · pitch · bark · deal

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. bore — to tire
  9. face — part of the head
  10. bore — to drill
  11. chest — of your body
  12. press — a publisher
  13. board — to get on
  14. face — to confront
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — completely
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. chest — a box
  19. board — a committee
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. deal — to handle
  22. press — newspapers
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bark — to shout

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