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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: clip · stem · ground · rock · press · branch · mine · net

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. rock — a stone
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. clip — to cut
  5. ground — a position
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. mine — for digging
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. clip — a video
  10. net — in sport
  11. branch — a division
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. press — newspapers
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. rock — music
  18. press — a publisher
  19. ground — crushed
  20. stem — to come from
  21. net — for catching
  22. press — to push
  23. net — after costs
  24. stem — of a plant

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