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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. degree — an amount
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. cell — a phone
  5. press — newspapers
  6. press — a publisher
  7. band — a ring
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. branch — a division
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. degree — from a university
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. press — to push
  16. band — a music group
  17. degree — temperature
  18. branch — of a bank

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