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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. pitch — completely
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. spring — a coil
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. clip — for paper
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. spring — of water
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. branch — a division
  14. clip — to cut
  15. band — a ring
  16. press — a publisher
  17. clip — a video
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. spring — the season
  20. press — to push
  21. press — newspapers
  22. band — a music group
  23. rush — hurry
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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