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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. season — of the year
  3. press — to push
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. march — the month
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — in sport
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. wound — an injury
  11. march — music
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. press — a publisher
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. branch — a division
  16. march — the month
  17. press — newspapers
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. stem — to come from
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. wound — an injury

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