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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 120 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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. fall — to drop
  3. branch — a division
  4. fall — the season
  5. bore — to tire
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. ground — crushed
  8. press — a publisher
  9. ground — a position
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. fall — to drop
  14. press — newspapers
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bore — to drill
  20. capital — money
  21. ground — the earth
  22. press — to push
  23. capital — a city
  24. prune — the fruit

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