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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: press · branch · cabinet · lash · field · spell · squash · lie

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. branch — a division
  3. press — to push
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. field — a subject
  6. spell — a short time
  7. field — farmland
  8. press — a publisher
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. squash — to crush
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. spell — magic
  17. squash — the sport
  18. field — for sport
  19. press — newspapers
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. spell — letters
  24. lash — to lash out

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