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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. fall — the season
  4. press — a publisher
  5. cold — not warm
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a grade
  8. fall — to drop
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. mark — a trace
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. foot — a measure
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. press — newspapers
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. cold — an illness
  21. fall — to drop
  22. branch — a division
  23. press — to push
  24. foot — part of the body

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