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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 116 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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. press — to push
  7. swing — in golf
  8. press — a publisher
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. club — for golf
  11. perch — the fish
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. press — newspapers
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. club — for dancing
  19. branch — a division
  20. swing — to play on
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. swing — music
  23. club — a group
  24. ball — a round shape

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