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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. last — final
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. last — finally
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bore — to tire
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — newspapers
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. clip — a video
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bore — to drill
  15. branch — a division
  16. rest — what's left
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. last — to go on
  21. press — to push
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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