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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. spring — the season
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. press — a publisher
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. press — to push
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. press — newspapers
  9. mate — a partner
  10. spring — of water
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. chair — a leader
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. mate — a friend
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. mate — to breed
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. spring — a coil
  23. branch — a division
  24. chair — a professorship

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