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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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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: cabinet · branch · bound · field · mine · fan · press · tear

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. press — to push
  3. press — a publisher
  4. bound — certain
  5. press — newspapers
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bound — tied together
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bound — obliged
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cabinet — ministers

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