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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. content — happy
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. face — part of the head
  6. press — to push
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — clever
  11. staff — a stick
  12. face — to confront
  13. press — a publisher
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. staff — employees
  17. face — to point toward
  18. content — the amount
  19. prune — to trim
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. press — newspapers
  23. staff — employees
  24. branch — a division

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