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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 120 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: straw · kid · track · spring · wave · branch · leaves · press

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. press — newspapers
  8. track — to keep track
  9. spring — a coil
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. spring — of water
  14. branch — a division
  15. kid — child
  16. press — to push
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. track — a path
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. press — a publisher
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. spring — the season
  24. track — a song

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