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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: wind · safe · branch · kick · press · scale

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. 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. press — to push
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. kick — in football
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. scale — size or range
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. press — newspapers
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. branch — a division
  16. press — a publisher
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. 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