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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. chest — a box
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. cell — in biology
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. press — to push
  9. chest — of your body
  10. branch — a division
  11. fork — in a road
  12. band — a music group
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. march — the month
  16. press — a publisher
  17. chest — of your body
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. press — newspapers
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a rubber band

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