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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. wind — moving air
  3. press — to push
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. squash — the sport
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mate — a partner
  9. press — a publisher
  10. bass — the fish
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. mate — a friend
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. tear — from crying
  15. file — a document
  16. squash — to crush
  17. branch — a division
  18. bass — low music
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. file — a tool
  21. mate — to breed
  22. tear — to rip
  23. press — newspapers
  24. file — a line of people

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