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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. squash — the sport
  7. net — in sport
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. net — for catching
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. pitch — completely
  13. net — after costs
  14. track — a song
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — newspapers
  19. branch — a division
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. track — a path
  22. press — to push
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. squash — to crush

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