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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 · bowl · board · branch · ground · temple · bass · saw

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. ground — a position
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. ground — the earth
  7. press — a publisher
  8. bass — low music
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. press — to push
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. board — to get on
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. ground — crushed
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. branch — a division
  18. bass — the fish
  19. press — newspapers
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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