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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 120 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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. press — to push
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bore — to drill
  7. fine — high quality
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. fine — all right
  10. file — a tool
  11. bore — to tire
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — newspapers
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. file — a document
  19. mine — for digging
  20. file — a line of people
  21. kick — in football
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — a division
  24. trunk — of a tree

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