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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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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 · rule · snap · bat · stick · press · roll · chest

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. branch — a division
  3. rule — a law
  4. roll — a list
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. chest — a box
  8. snap — to click
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rule — government
  14. press — a publisher
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. press — newspapers
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bat — the animal
  19. chest — of your body
  20. roll — a cake
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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