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

Word bank: straw · tear · press · branch · cell · nail

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. press — a publisher
  3. press — to push
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. tear — to rip
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. branch — a division
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. tear — from crying
  16. press — newspapers
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. tear — from crying

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