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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: spring · pop · branch · face · row · clip · wax · press

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. press — to push
  3. row — to paddle
  4. face — to confront
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — a division
  7. press — newspapers
  8. face — part of the head
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — the season
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. spring — of water
  16. wax — to grow
  17. press — a publisher
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — soda
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. row — a line
  23. pop — music
  24. face — to point toward

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