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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 120 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 · band · branch · squash · field · press · club · bore

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. field — farmland
  4. branch — a division
  5. bore — to drill
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. bore — to tire
  10. squash — the sport
  11. club — for dancing
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. press — a publisher
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. spring — a coil
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. spring — the season
  18. field — a subject
  19. band — a music group
  20. spring — of water
  21. press — newspapers
  22. field — for sport
  23. band — a ring
  24. press — to push

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