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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.

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: wound · perch · swing · branch · press · band · pass · season

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — of the year
  4. swing — in golf
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — a division
  7. press — a publisher
  8. perch — the fish
  9. press — newspapers
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. swing — music
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. band — a music group
  17. press — to push
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. season — in sport
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. band — a ring
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. perch — for a bird

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