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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. net — for catching
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. press — to push
  6. net — after costs
  7. branch — a division
  8. band — a music group
  9. march — the month
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. object — an aim
  12. race — humankind
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. march — music
  15. net — in sport
  16. object — to protest
  17. march — the month
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — a contest
  20. snap — to click
  21. press — newspapers
  22. object — a thing
  23. press — a publisher
  24. band — a ring

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