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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 120 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 · march · root · sharp · branch · scale · trunk · content

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. scale — in music
  3. scale — size or range
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. press — a publisher
  6. march — the month
  7. press — newspapers
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. press — to push
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. content — happy
  12. branch — a division
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — clever
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — of a word
  20. content — the amount
  21. march — music
  22. root — the cause
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. sharp — exactly

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