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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. press — to push
  3. file — a tool
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. press — a publisher
  6. pop — soda
  7. fall — the season
  8. band — a ring
  9. fall — to drop
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. land — to come down
  12. craft — a skill
  13. prune — to trim
  14. press — newspapers
  15. fall — to drop
  16. file — a document
  17. craft — boats
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. prune — to trim
  20. land — a country
  21. file — a line of people
  22. band — a music group
  23. land — ground
  24. pop — music

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