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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: bear · press · jam · lean · cap · branch · cell · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bear — the animal
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. cell — in biology
  9. lean — thin
  10. cap — of ice
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. press — to push
  13. cell — a phone
  14. season — in sport
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cap — a hat
  18. lean — to bend
  19. bear — the animal
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. cap — a lid
  23. season — of the year
  24. press — newspapers

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