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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 120 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: kick · mine · rest · pound · press · branch

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. kick — in football
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. pound — a weight
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. press — newspapers
  9. mine — for digging
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. press — a publisher
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. press — to push
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. rest — a break
  17. branch — a division
  18. rest — what's left

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