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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. last — final
  3. staff — a stick
  4. press — newspapers
  5. last — to go on
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. rash — hasty
  8. staff — employees
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. press — a publisher
  11. branch — a division
  12. staff — employees
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. press — to push
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — of law
  18. court — for sport
  19. rash — a series
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. prune — to trim
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. prune — to trim
  24. last — finally

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