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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
468
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: chair · press · season · land · hide · lash · band · branch

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. land — ground
  4. press — to push
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a ring
  10. branch — a division
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — a country
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. press — a publisher
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. season — of the year
  22. chair — a leader
  23. press — newspapers
  24. lash — to lash out

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