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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: press · key · chest · band · prune · court · rock · bank

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. key — for a lock
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rock — music
  5. bank — for money
  6. key — the most important part
  7. band — a ring
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. press — a publisher
  10. court — of law
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bank — for money
  14. court — for sport
  15. press — to push
  16. prune — to trim
  17. key — in music
  18. court — of a king
  19. press — newspapers
  20. chest — of your body
  21. band — a music group
  22. bank — of a river
  23. rock — a stone
  24. rock — to move gently

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