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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 · field · lash · wave · branch · game

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. press — to push
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — for sport
  7. press — a publisher
  8. game — a match
  9. branch — a division
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. field — farmland
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. game — wild animals
  18. press — newspapers

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