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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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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: chair · wound · lean · press · straw · jam · bass · branch

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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. bass — the fish
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. branch — a division
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. press — to push
  11. lean — to bend
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. lean — thin
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — low music
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. wound — an injury
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. lean — to rest against
  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