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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. chair — a leader
  3. branch — a division
  4. press — newspapers
  5. march — music
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. march — the month
  8. press — to push
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. dip — to sink
  12. prune — to trim
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bat — the animal
  17. march — the month
  18. press — a publisher
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. wake — a trail
  24. chair — to sit on

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