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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 · land · branch · staff · face · row · spring · swing

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. spring — the season
  3. face — to confront
  4. land — ground
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. swing — to play on
  8. face — to point toward
  9. press — a publisher
  10. land — a country
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. land — to come down
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — music
  15. row — a line
  16. row — to paddle
  17. staff — a stick
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. press — newspapers
  20. face — part of the head
  21. staff — employees
  22. branch — a division
  23. staff — employees
  24. press — to push

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