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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 124 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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. present — the time now
  3. prune — to trim
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. cold — an illness
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. present — there
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — in music
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. present — a gift
  15. press — newspapers
  16. prune — to trim
  17. press — to push
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. press — a publisher
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. branch — a division
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cold — not warm

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