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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: hand · coach · spring · hide · scale · branch · march · press

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. press — a publisher
  4. march — the month
  5. scale — in music
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. press — to push
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. spring — a coil
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. scale — size or range
  14. spring — the season
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. press — newspapers
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hand — help
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. hand — in cards
  24. branch — a division

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