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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: press · branch · drill · shower · band · wind · clip · fine

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. wind — moving air
  3. clip — to cut
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — newspapers
  6. wind — moving air
  7. press — to push
  8. fine — all right
  9. clip — for paper
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. drill — the tool
  13. fine — high quality
  14. branch — a division
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. shower — rain
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a music group
  20. shower — to wash
  21. drill — army training
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. drill — a practice
  24. wind — to turn a key

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