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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. press — to push
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — rain
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. press — newspapers
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. chair — a leader
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. cell — a phone
  19. press — a publisher
  20. cell — in biology
  21. snap — to click
  22. pound — a weight
  23. court — of law
  24. chair — to sit on

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