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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.

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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: field · band · press · club · bore · wake · spell · branch

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. press — a publisher
  4. band — a music group
  5. press — to push
  6. branch — a division
  7. press — newspapers
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. field — for sport
  10. band — a ring
  11. spell — letters
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bore — to drill
  14. club — a group
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. spell — a short time
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. spell — magic
  24. band — a rubber band

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