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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. bank — for money
  3. board — to get on
  4. press — to push
  5. ground — crushed
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. bank — of a river
  8. cold — an illness
  9. ground — a position
  10. bank — for money
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. ground — the earth
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. net — in sport
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — newspapers
  20. board — a committee
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — after costs
  23. branch — a division
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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