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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: press · prune · land · band · swing · scale

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. swing — to play on
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. prune — to trim
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. band — a music group
  7. land — a country
  8. scale — in music
  9. swing — music
  10. land — ground
  11. scale — size or range
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. swing — in golf
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — a publisher
  16. band — a ring
  17. press — to push
  18. prune — to trim

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