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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. cold — an illness
  3. press — a publisher
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. press — to push
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — of a river
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a partner
  10. file — a tool
  11. branch — a division
  12. bank — for money
  13. file — a document
  14. swing — to play on
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cold — not warm
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. swing — music
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — in football
  21. mate — a friend
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. press — newspapers
  24. swing — in golf

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