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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 · spring · capital · scale · prune · branch · lie · band

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. press — newspapers
  6. capital — a city
  7. spring — a coil
  8. scale — in music
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. spring — of water
  11. prune — to trim
  12. lie — to recline
  13. band — a music group
  14. branch — a division
  15. press — a publisher
  16. band — a ring
  17. scale — size or range
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. spring — the season
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. press — to push
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. capital — money

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