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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. branch — a division
  4. land — ground
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. press — a publisher
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. press — newspapers
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — after costs
  12. press — to push
  13. pop — music
  14. cue — a hint
  15. pop — to visit
  16. net — for catching
  17. cue — a signal
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. land — a country
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pop — soda
  24. cue — for pool

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