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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. season — in sport
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. press — newspapers
  5. face — to point toward
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. clip — for paper
  8. face — to confront
  9. root — the cause
  10. wound — an injury
  11. branch — a division
  12. season — of the year
  13. clip — to cut
  14. press — to push
  15. press — a publisher
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. root — of a word
  18. clip — a video
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. face — part of the head

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