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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: prune · hand · branch · press · file · wind · chair · face

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. press — a publisher
  7. chair — a leader
  8. face — to confront
  9. wind — moving air
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. hand — in cards
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. file — a line of people
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. file — a tool
  17. press — newspapers
  18. file — a document
  19. branch — a division
  20. hand — help
  21. face — to point toward
  22. press — to push
  23. face — part of the head
  24. chair — a professorship

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