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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: pass · land · branch · wound · press · track · date · mine

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. land — to come down
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. wound — an injury
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. date — the fruit
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. land — ground
  10. mine — for digging
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. press — to push
  13. press — a publisher
  14. branch — a division
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. track — a path
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. press — newspapers
  21. wound — an injury
  22. land — a country
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. pass — a permit

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