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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. press — a publisher
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. capital — a city
  5. press — to push
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. squash — the sport
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. present — a gift
  10. present — the time now
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. present — there
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. squash — to crush
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. press — newspapers
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. tear — from crying
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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