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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: branch · perch · press · mine · sharp · cell · file · bore

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. press — to push
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. mine — for digging
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. file — a tool
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. press — a publisher
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bore — to drill
  17. perch — the fish
  18. branch — a division
  19. cell — in biology
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. press — newspapers
  22. file — a document
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. sharp — clever

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