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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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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 · band · cabinet · bay · branch · wound · rule · club

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. press — a publisher
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. branch — a division
  5. rule — a law
  6. club — a group
  7. band — a ring
  8. club — for dancing
  9. rule — government
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a music group
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. club — for golf
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. press — newspapers
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. wound — an injury

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