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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: wake · press · branch · stick · spring · cap · last · perch

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. press — a publisher
  5. spring — of water
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. branch — a division
  9. press — to push
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. spring — a coil
  14. last — final
  15. perch — the fish
  16. spring — the season
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. last — finally
  19. press — newspapers
  20. last — to go on
  21. wake — a trail
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — of ice

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