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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. scale — size or range
  3. pop — soda
  4. scale — in music
  5. track — a song
  6. branch — a division
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. track — a path
  9. press — a publisher
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bear — the animal
  13. press — newspapers
  14. mate — to breed
  15. press — to push
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mate — a friend
  18. pop — to visit
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. track — to keep track
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pop — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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