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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.

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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: bat · branch · arm · land · press · bark · pop · suit

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. land — ground
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. land — a country
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. suit — in cards
  10. branch — a division
  11. bat — the animal
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. press — a publisher
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. pop — soda
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. suit — to fit
  18. bark — to shout
  19. suit — clothes
  20. land — to come down
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — to push
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. branch — of a tree

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