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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: pop · trunk · stem · band · squash · press · bound · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. band — a ring
  3. bound — obliged
  4. squash — to crush
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. press — newspapers
  7. press — a publisher
  8. squash — the sport
  9. pop — to visit
  10. stem — to come from
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. pop — music
  14. bound — certain
  15. band — a music group
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bound — tied together
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. press — to push
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. pop — soda

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