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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. row — a line
  8. branch — a division
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. last — finally
  13. rock — music
  14. rock — a stone
  15. wound — an injury
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. press — newspapers
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. press — a publisher

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