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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. tear — from crying
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. branch — a division
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. tear — to rip
  8. court — for sport
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. game — wild animals
  12. tear — from crying
  13. date — the fruit
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. press — to push
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. game — a match
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — of law
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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