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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. chest — of your body
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. press — a publisher
  7. capital — money
  8. press — newspapers
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. capital — a city
  12. stem — to come from
  13. chest — a box
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. press — to push
  18. land — ground
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. branch — a division
  21. chest — of your body
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  24. stem — a stem cell

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