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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. season — of the year
  3. saw — the tool
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. press — to push
  6. sharp — clever
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. firm — decided
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. firm — steady
  13. ball — a great time
  14. branch — a division
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. firm — a company
  17. press — newspapers
  18. ball — a dance
  19. bat — the animal
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. season — in sport
  23. saw — the tool
  24. branch — of a bank

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