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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: present · straw · pass · press · branch · scale · cold · date

  1. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. present — the time now
  3. press — to push
  4. scale — in music
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. pass — a permit
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. present — a gift
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. press — newspapers
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. cold — an illness
  17. scale — size or range
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. press — a publisher
  20. present — there
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cold — not warm
  23. date — the fruit
  24. branch — a division

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