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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: spring · row · staff · ground · branch · press · fork · clip

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  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. fork — in a road
  2. spring — of water
  3. branch — a division
  4. press — newspapers
  5. ground — crushed
  6. press — a publisher
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — a stick
  10. clip — to cut
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. spring — the season
  15. row — a line
  16. clip — for paper
  17. staff — employees
  18. press — to push
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. ground — a position
  21. clip — a video
  22. ground — the earth
  23. fork — a garden tool
  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