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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cold · band · press · branch · shower · rush · temple · chair

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. press — a publisher
  4. cold — an illness
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. branch — a division
  7. rush — hurry
  8. cold — not warm
  9. band — a ring
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. press — to push
  16. press — newspapers
  17. chair — a leader
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. shower — rain
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. shower — to wash
  24. band — a music group

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