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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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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: wake · press · hand · club · board · branch · clip · cap

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. board — a committee
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. club — for dancing
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — to push
  10. branch — a division
  11. clip — to cut
  12. board — to get on
  13. wake — a trail
  14. hand — help
  15. club — for golf
  16. hand — in cards
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — of ice
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. cap — a hat
  22. club — a group
  23. press — newspapers
  24. hand — part of the body

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