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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 116 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. court — of law
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a ring
  5. pound — a weight
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — certain
  9. object — an aim
  10. press — a publisher
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. march — the month
  17. object — to protest
  18. press — newspapers
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. bound — obliged
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. object — a thing

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