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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. cold — not warm
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. content — happy
  6. press — a publisher
  7. content — the amount
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bear — the animal
  11. press — newspapers
  12. kick — in football
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. branch — a division
  17. press — to push
  18. kick — with a leg

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