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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. wound — an injury
  4. club — a group
  5. mate — a partner
  6. band — a music group
  7. bound — certain
  8. band — a ring
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. club — for golf
  11. mate — to breed
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bound — obliged
  15. press — to push
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. cold — not warm
  20. press — newspapers
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. bound — tied together
  24. mate — a friend

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