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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. press — to push
  4. pop — soda
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wind — moving air
  7. file — a tool
  8. drill — army training
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pop — to visit
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bat — the animal
  15. file — a line of people
  16. branch — a division
  17. press — a publisher
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. file — a document
  22. drill — a practice
  23. pop — music
  24. wind — to turn a key

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