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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. field — a subject
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. game — wild animals
  5. can — a tin
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. key — the most important part
  9. clip — for paper
  10. field — farmland
  11. key — for a lock
  12. field — for sport
  13. can — a tin
  14. clip — a video
  15. branch — a division
  16. can — to be able to
  17. press — newspapers
  18. key — in music
  19. press — to push
  20. game — a match
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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