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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: mate · land · temple · pound · jam · press · chair · bark

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. press — to push
  5. mate — to breed
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. pound — a weight
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. press — a publisher
  10. chair — a leader
  11. mate — a partner
  12. land — a country
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. land — ground
  15. mate — a friend
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. land — to come down
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bark — to shout
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pound — for dogs

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