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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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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 · wound · chair · temple · stick · cabinet · bark · prune

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. chair — a leader
  9. press — to push
  10. wound — an injury
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bark — to shout
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. press — a publisher
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. press — newspapers
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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