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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. row — a line
  4. firm — steady
  5. court — for sport
  6. can — to be able to
  7. court — of law
  8. spring — a coil
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — a division
  11. can — a tin
  12. press — to push
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. press — newspapers
  15. can — a tin
  16. spring — the season
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. firm — decided
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. court — of a king
  22. firm — a company
  23. spring — of water
  24. row — to paddle

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