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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. branch — a division
  7. mine — for digging
  8. last — final
  9. last — finally
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. last — to go on
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. fork — in a road
  16. press — newspapers
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. racket — for tennis

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