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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. march — the month
  5. branch — a division
  6. press — to push
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. rock — music
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. press — newspapers
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. press — a publisher
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. march — the month
  18. rock — a stone
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. march — music

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