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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. game — a match
  3. sharp — clever
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — a lid
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. pit — in a race
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. press — a publisher
  14. cap — of ice
  15. branch — a division
  16. pit — a hole
  17. game — wild animals
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. press — newspapers
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  24. calf — of the leg

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