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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. branch — a division
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. season — of the year
  5. sharp — clever
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. season — in sport
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. press — newspapers
  12. wax — to grow
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bass — low music
  15. net — after costs
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. net — in sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. press — to push
  24. net — for catching

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