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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 116 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. swing — in golf
  3. last — to go on
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. mug — a cup
  7. spell — letters
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. press — to push
  10. press — a publisher
  11. last — finally
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. mug — to rob
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. swing — to play on
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. mug — a face
  19. mine — for digging
  20. spell — a short time
  21. last — final
  22. swing — music
  23. spell — magic
  24. press — newspapers

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