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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · fork · bear · degree · bound · hand · branch · chair

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. bear — the animal
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bound — tied together
  10. press — to push
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. press — a publisher
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bound — certain
  15. degree — an amount
  16. branch — a division
  17. chair — a leader
  18. press — newspapers
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — temperature
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. fork — in a road
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bear — the animal

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