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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. press — to push
  3. hand — help
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. press — newspapers
  6. ball — a great time
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. branch — a division
  11. ball — a dance
  12. press — a publisher
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wound — an injury
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. degree — from a university
  23. hand — in cards
  24. racket — a loud noise

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