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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: press · plane · rule · bound · season · wind · dip · last

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. rule — government
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. last — final
  6. bound — tied together
  7. season — of the year
  8. plane — a tool
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. bound — certain
  11. press — a publisher
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bound — obliged
  14. dip — to sink
  15. press — newspapers
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. press — to push
  19. wind — moving air
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rule — a law
  24. season — in sport

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