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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. rest — what's left
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. staff — a stick
  6. band — a ring
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. staff — employees
  9. branch — a division
  10. press — to push
  11. rest — what's left
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. rest — a break
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. press — newspapers
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. press — a publisher
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. staff — employees
  24. branch — of a tree

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