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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — soda
  4. swing — in golf
  5. tube — the underground
  6. press — a publisher
  7. court — for sport
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. press — to push
  11. tube — a container
  12. suit — in cards
  13. suit — clothes
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. press — newspapers
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — to play on
  19. suit — to fit
  20. court — of law
  21. court — of a king
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pop — to visit
  24. branch — a division

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