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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: branch · staff · field · press · pop · bark · capital · fall

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. staff — employees
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. field — for sport
  5. fall — to drop
  6. press — to push
  7. field — farmland
  8. capital — money
  9. pop — music
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. field — a subject
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. pop — soda
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pop — to visit
  17. capital — a city
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — a publisher
  21. branch — a division
  22. bark — to shout
  23. staff — employees
  24. fall — the season

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