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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. last — final
  3. bank — of a river
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. cell — in biology
  6. last — to go on
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rest — a break
  9. band — a music group
  10. rest — what's left
  11. press — a publisher
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. press — newspapers
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. band — a ring
  16. last — finally
  17. staff — employees
  18. press — to push
  19. bank — for money
  20. branch — a division
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bank — for money
  23. staff — a stick
  24. rest — what's left

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