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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fall — to drop
  4. press — a publisher
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. fall — to drop
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. fall — the season
  11. capital — a city
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. game — wild animals
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. branch — a division
  19. game — a match
  20. press — to push
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. press — newspapers
  24. game — a kind of play

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