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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: press · mine · current · band · clip · season · branch · deal

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. season — of the year
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. press — to push
  6. season — in sport
  7. band — a ring
  8. clip — a video
  9. mine — for digging
  10. current — electric
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. band — a music group
  15. deal — to handle
  16. press — newspapers
  17. clip — for paper
  18. current — happening now
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — a division
  22. press — a publisher
  23. current — of water
  24. mine — belonging to me

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