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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: press · kick · wound · stem · band · pound

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. kick — in football
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — to come from
  5. wound — an injury
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a music group
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — newspapers
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. pound — a weight
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. press — to push
  18. wound — past of 'wind'

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