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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. drill — army training
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. row — to paddle
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. drill — the tool
  10. last — finally
  11. press — a publisher
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. branch — a division
  15. season — of the year
  16. row — a line
  17. chair — a leader
  18. last — final
  19. press — to push
  20. season — in sport
  21. press — newspapers
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. last — to go on

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