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

Word bank: temple · ball · pop · last · chair · deal · branch · press

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pop — to visit
  8. press — a publisher
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. last — to go on
  11. branch — a division
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. press — newspapers
  14. last — final
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. deal — to handle
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. pop — music
  20. press — to push
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a great time
  24. pop — soda

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