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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: stem · chest · band · pit · press · rest · branch · clip

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. band — a music group
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rest — a break
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. band — a ring
  7. branch — a division
  8. stem — to come from
  9. chest — a box
  10. clip — a video
  11. rest — what's left
  12. press — a publisher
  13. rest — what's left
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — in a race
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. press — to push
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. band — a rubber band

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