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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: leaves · march · press · capital · squash · chest · perch · branch

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. perch — the fish
  4. capital — a city
  5. press — a publisher
  6. capital — money
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. branch — a division
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. chest — of your body
  11. press — to push
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. march — music
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. press — newspapers
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. squash — the sport

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