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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. squash — to crush
  3. press — a publisher
  4. wound — an injury
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. net — after costs
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. net — for catching
  10. squash — the sport
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. net — in sport
  17. bark — to shout
  18. press — newspapers
  19. branch — a division
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. wound — an injury
  22. row — a line
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. press — to push

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