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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. cap — a hat
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. clip — a video
  7. fall — to drop
  8. tear — from crying
  9. branch — a division
  10. chair — a leader
  11. press — a publisher
  12. fall — to drop
  13. tear — from crying
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. clip — for paper
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. press — newspapers
  18. press — to push
  19. cap — of ice
  20. clip — to cut
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fall — the season
  23. tear — to rip
  24. cap — a lid

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