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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 116 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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. branch — a division
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. press — to push
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. march — the month
  12. wound — an injury
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. hand — help
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. march — the month
  19. press — newspapers
  20. chair — a leader
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. press — a publisher
  24. march — music

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