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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. chair — a leader
  3. pound — a weight
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — a phone
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — to push
  14. press — newspapers
  15. shower — rain
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. shower — to wash
  18. branch — of a tree

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