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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. press — to push
  4. club — a group
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bat — the animal
  8. club — for golf
  9. pit — in a race
  10. press — newspapers
  11. season — of the year
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. season — in sport
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. branch — a division
  21. land — ground
  22. club — for dancing
  23. press — a publisher
  24. season — to add flavour

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