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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. branch — a division
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bore — to drill
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cap — of ice
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. cap — a lid
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. press — to push
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bore — to tire
  20. press — newspapers
  21. squash — the sport
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bore — gave birth

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