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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 120 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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. spring — a coil
  3. press — a publisher
  4. branch — a division
  5. court — of a king
  6. spring — of water
  7. court — of law
  8. press — to push
  9. spring — the season
  10. court — for sport
  11. face — part of the head
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. perch — the fish
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. face — to point toward
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. face — to confront
  22. press — newspapers
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. branch — of a bank

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