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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. court — for sport
  3. saw — the tool
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. court — of law
  8. hand — help
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — for catching
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. deal — to handle
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. press — to push
  18. press — a publisher
  19. court — of a king
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. net — in sport
  22. saw — the tool
  23. press — newspapers
  24. hand — in cards

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