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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. saw — the tool
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. chest — a box
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. wound — an injury
  9. saw — the tool
  10. chest — of your body
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — to push
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. chest — of your body
  19. press — a publisher
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. file — a document
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. branch — a division

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