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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
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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: cell · press · rock · branch · wax · foot · ground · last

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. ground — crushed
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. last — to go on
  5. rock — music
  6. ground — the earth
  7. press — a publisher
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. branch — a division
  11. cell — a phone
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. wax — to grow
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. foot — a measure
  16. last — final
  17. press — newspapers
  18. rock — a stone
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. last — finally
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. ground — a position
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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