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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. band — a music group
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. swing — music
  7. clip — for paper
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. press — to push
  10. clip — to cut
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. press — newspapers
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — a division
  17. band — a ring
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. clip — a video
  22. press — a publisher
  23. swing — in golf
  24. racket — a loud noise

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