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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bay · roll · wake · hand · cell · press · branch · object

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. press — a publisher
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cell — a phone
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — a division
  9. cell — in biology
  10. object — a thing
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. press — to push
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. roll — a cake
  18. object — an aim
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. press — newspapers
  21. object — to protest
  22. hand — in cards
  23. wake — a trail
  24. roll — a list

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