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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: face · branch · content · prune · season · straw · press · wax

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. face — to point toward
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. prune — to trim
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. content — happy
  7. wax — to grow
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. season — of the year
  11. press — to push
  12. face — part of the head
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. prune — to trim
  16. face — to confront
  17. press — a publisher
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — a division
  20. season — in sport
  21. content — the amount
  22. press — newspapers
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. content — videos and posts

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