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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. cold — not warm
  8. press — newspapers
  9. branch — a division
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. club — a group
  12. bear — the animal
  13. press — to push
  14. press — a publisher
  15. club — for golf
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — a series
  18. cold — an illness

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