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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: press · kick · wound · stem · band · pound · branch · racket

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. branch — a division
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. press — a publisher
  5. band — a ring
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. pound — a weight
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. wound — an injury
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. band — a music group
  18. press — to push
  19. kick — in football
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. stem — to come from
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. press — newspapers
  24. wound — an injury

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