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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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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: jam · bound · clip · present · shower · press · field · stick

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — rain
  4. present — a gift
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. clip — a video
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. bound — tied together
  9. press — a publisher
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. clip — for paper
  12. press — newspapers
  13. present — there
  14. present — the time now
  15. field — farmland
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. field — a subject
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. field — for sport
  20. press — to push
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bound — certain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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