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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: pitcher · branch · fall · press · toast · date · chest · mine

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. mine — for digging
  4. press — a publisher
  5. chest — a box
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. chest — of your body
  8. press — to push
  9. date — the fruit
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. fall — the season
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. press — newspapers
  21. branch — a division
  22. toast — bread
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pitcher — a jug

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