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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 120 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 · fall · ruler · tear · wound · bound · pound · rash

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. fall — the season
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — hasty
  6. wound — an injury
  7. press — a publisher
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. tear — from crying
  10. press — newspapers
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bound — certain
  13. tear — to rip
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. bound — tied together
  16. rash — a series
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bound — obliged
  19. press — to push
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. wound — an injury
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. pound — a weight
  24. fall — to drop

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