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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 124 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. press — a publisher
  5. craft — boats
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mark — a grade
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. press — newspapers
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. prune — to trim
  15. branch — a division
  16. face — to point toward
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. press — to push
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. mark — a trace

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