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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. drill — the tool
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. staff — employees
  5. ball — a dance
  6. staff — a stick
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. present — a gift
  10. shower — to wash
  11. drill — army training
  12. press — a publisher
  13. staff — employees
  14. shower — rain
  15. press — newspapers
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. present — the time now
  19. drill — a practice
  20. press — to push
  21. present — there
  22. cold — an illness
  23. ball — a great time
  24. branch — a division

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