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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mate — to breed
  5. branch — a division
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. press — newspapers
  14. root — of a plant
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. root — of a word
  18. press — a publisher
  19. last — finally
  20. mate — a partner
  21. press — to push
  22. mate — a friend
  23. root — the cause
  24. fork — in a road

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