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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.

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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: game · fan · prune · field · stick · branch · press · ground

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — newspapers
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. ground — crushed
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. branch — a division
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. ground — a position
  12. game — wild animals
  13. ground — the earth
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. game — a match
  17. field — a subject
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. press — to push
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. field — farmland
  22. prune — to trim
  23. field — for sport
  24. fan — a supporter

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