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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: prune · sharp · pitch · band · spring · cap · branch · press

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. press — to push
  3. branch — a division
  4. sharp — clever
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cap — a lid
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. band — a ring
  11. spring — the season
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — newspapers
  18. prune — to trim
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — of ice
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. band — a music group
  24. sharp — with an edge

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