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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. press — a publisher
  4. branch — a division
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. band — a ring
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — of the year
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. press — newspapers
  13. season — in sport
  14. band — a music group
  15. press — to push
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. field — a subject
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. cell — in biology

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