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

Word bank: rule · tube · press · bound · wind · chest

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. bound — tied together
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — the underground
  6. wind — moving air
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. chest — a box
  9. bound — certain
  10. press — to push
  11. bound — obliged
  12. rule — government
  13. rule — a law
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wind — moving air
  16. press — newspapers
  17. chest — of your body
  18. rule — to rule out

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