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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. cold — an illness
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. hand — help
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bank — of a river
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. branch — a division
  12. press — a publisher
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to point toward
  17. hand — in cards
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. press — newspapers
  20. mark — a grade
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. press — to push
  23. face — to confront
  24. nail — for a hammer

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