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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: band · date · tear · snap · game · press · wind · bark

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. press — newspapers
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. date — the fruit
  7. game — wild animals
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. tear — from crying
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. wind — moving air
  15. game — a match
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. band — a music group
  18. tear — to rip
  19. snap — to click
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wind — moving air
  23. band — a ring
  24. bark — to shout

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