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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chip — for betting
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. lean — to bend
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. degree — from a university
  8. branch — a division
  9. wound — an injury
  10. press — newspapers
  11. court — of a king
  12. press — to push
  13. foot — a measure
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of law
  16. press — a publisher
  17. lean — thin
  18. degree — temperature
  19. chip — to eat
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. degree — an amount
  24. lean — to rest against

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