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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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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: wake · pitcher · race · mouse · press · rash · hand · branch

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. hand — in cards
  7. branch — a division
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. race — humankind
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. race — a contest
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — to push
  14. rash — a series
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. rash — hasty
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. hand — help
  21. race — the arms race
  22. press — newspapers
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. wake — a trail

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