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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 124 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. clip — to cut
  3. branch — a division
  4. field — for sport
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. clip — for paper
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — soda
  11. press — a publisher
  12. field — a subject
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. clip — a video
  16. press — newspapers
  17. date — the fruit
  18. field — farmland

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