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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: degree · branch · chest · lie · clip · racket · press · wave

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. clip — to cut
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. lie — to recline
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. clip — a video
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. press — newspapers
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. degree — an amount
  14. press — a publisher
  15. clip — for paper
  16. branch — a division
  17. chest — of your body
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. chest — a box
  21. degree — temperature
  22. press — to push
  23. degree — from a university
  24. lie — an untruth

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