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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 · chip · drill · season · pound · stand · branch

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. chip — for betting
  5. field — farmland
  6. pound — a weight
  7. branch — a division
  8. season — in sport
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. drill — army training
  11. stand — to bear
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. drill — a practice
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. press — to push
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. field — a subject
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. press — newspapers
  20. drill — the tool
  21. press — a publisher
  22. chip — to eat
  23. field — for sport
  24. pound — for dogs

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