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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 120 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 met the new head ________________?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. tube — the underground
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. capital — a city
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. lie — to recline
  12. branch — a division
  13. capital — money
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. press — to push
  17. tube — a container
  18. press — a publisher
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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