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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. press — a publisher
  6. press — to push
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. branch — a division
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. craft — a skill
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. craft — boats
  13. press — newspapers
  14. cold — an illness
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. cold — not warm
  18. hide — to keep secret

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