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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 120 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: branch · hide · can · craft · spring · race · press · snap

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — a contest
  4. spring — the season
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — to be able to
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. craft — boats
  9. race — the arms race
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. craft — a skill
  12. snap — to click
  13. can — a tin
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. press — to push
  20. spring — of water
  21. press — newspapers
  22. branch — a division
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. spring — a coil

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