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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. swing — music
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. last — final
  6. object — to protest
  7. swing — in golf
  8. press — a publisher
  9. firm — steady
  10. last — finally
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. object — an aim
  13. branch — a division
  14. object — a thing
  15. last — to go on
  16. firm — decided
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. press — newspapers
  20. firm — a company
  21. swing — to play on
  22. date — the fruit
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. coach — a trainer

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