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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: object · present · branch · band · press · fall · degree · dip

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. degree — from a university
  3. press — a publisher
  4. fall — the season
  5. press — to push
  6. present — there
  7. object — a thing
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. fall — to drop
  12. object — an aim
  13. dip — to sink
  14. band — a music group
  15. degree — temperature
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. degree — an amount
  18. present — the time now
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. present — a gift
  22. band — a ring
  23. fall — to drop
  24. press — newspapers

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