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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 116 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: branch · pound · snap · band · object · press · fork · wound

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. press — a publisher
  3. press — to push
  4. snap — to click
  5. press — newspapers
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fork — in a road
  8. branch — a division
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — a weight
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. object — to protest
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. object — an aim
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. object — a thing
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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