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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 chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rash — a series
  4. net — in sport
  5. press — newspapers
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. drill — army training
  10. press — a publisher
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. net — after costs
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. branch — a division
  16. press — to push
  17. bat — the animal
  18. rash — hasty
  19. drill — a practice
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. wound — an injury
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. net — for catching

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