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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: squash · spring · branch · press · clip · current · bound · cell

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. press — to push
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. squash — to crush
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. bound — obliged
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bound — certain
  13. spring — of water
  14. cell — a phone
  15. spring — the season
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. current — electric
  18. current — of water
  19. bound — tied together
  20. press — newspapers
  21. cell — in biology
  22. current — happening now
  23. squash — the sport
  24. press — a publisher

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