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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. mug — a face
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — the animal
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. press — to push
  10. mug — a cup
  11. mug — to rob
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bass — low music
  14. press — a publisher
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. press — newspapers
  17. stock — shares
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bass — the fish
  21. stock — goods
  22. kid — child
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. kid — to tease

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