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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. press — a publisher
  3. lean — to bend
  4. prune — to trim
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. saw — the tool
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. last — to go on
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. press — to push
  12. saw — the tool
  13. last — final
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bark — to shout
  16. press — newspapers
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bat — the animal
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. branch — a division
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. last — finally

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