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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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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: branch · last · chest · clip · swing · press

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. swing — in golf
  3. press — to push
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. press — a publisher
  7. branch — a division
  8. press — newspapers
  9. clip — for paper
  10. chest — of your body
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. clip — to cut
  13. swing — music
  14. last — finally
  15. clip — a video
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. swing — to play on

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