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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. press — newspapers
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wake — a trail
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. press — to push
  9. prune — to trim
  10. chip — to eat
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. press — a publisher
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chest — a box
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — for betting
  22. branch — a division
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — exactly

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