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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. press — to push
  3. bear — the animal
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. press — newspapers
  8. bound — certain
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bound — obliged
  11. capital — money
  12. press — a publisher
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. branch — a division
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. row — a line
  20. bear — the animal
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. capital — a city
  23. row — to paddle
  24. sharp — clever

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