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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 116 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. bear — the animal
  5. press — to push
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. branch — a division
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for dancing
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. content — happy
  15. club — for golf
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — newspapers
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — to play on
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. content — the amount

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