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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. fall — the season
  3. wound — an injury
  4. press — a publisher
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. press — newspapers
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. band — a ring
  12. press — to push
  13. fall — to drop
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bound — obliged
  17. band — a music group
  18. wound — an injury
  19. capital — a city
  20. bound — certain
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. fall — to drop
  23. capital — money
  24. bound — tied together

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