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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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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: sharp · bark · press · roll · club · nail · branch · wind

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bark — to shout
  3. press — to push
  4. press — a publisher
  5. roll — a cake
  6. club — for dancing
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. press — newspapers
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — a division
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. wind — moving air
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. sharp — clever
  19. club — a group
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a list
  22. wind — moving air
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. nail — for a hammer

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