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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. perch — the fish
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bank — for money
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. press — newspapers
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bank — of a river
  14. cold — not warm
  15. press — a publisher
  16. prune — to trim
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. branch — a division
  19. prune — to trim
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bank — for money
  24. press — to push

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