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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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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: cell · pound · tear · press · kick · kid · suit · bark

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. kid — child
  3. suit — clothes
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. suit — to fit
  7. kick — in football
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — newspapers
  12. kid — to tease
  13. tear — to rip
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. press — to push
  16. cell — in biology
  17. suit — in cards
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — to shout
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. pound — a weight
  24. cell — a phone

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