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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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Word bank
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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: last · tear · band · firm · scale · press

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. tear — to rip
  3. press — a publisher
  4. last — finally
  5. tear — from crying
  6. firm — decided
  7. firm — steady
  8. scale — size or range
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. last — final
  11. firm — a company
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — to push
  14. scale — in music
  15. band — a music group
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. tear — from crying
  18. last — to go on

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