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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: bear · rock · march · vault · land · game · branch · press

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. press — to push
  3. land — ground
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. march — music
  7. rock — music
  8. vault — a safe
  9. land — to come down
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. press — a publisher
  12. game — a match
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. rock — a stone
  15. bear — the animal
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. march — the month
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. march — the month
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bear — the animal
  22. land — a country
  23. branch — a division
  24. game — a kind of play

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