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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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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: can · net · bay · board · band · press · spring · bark

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. press — to push
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. spring — of water
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. net — after costs
  9. press — newspapers
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. board — a committee
  13. spring — a coil
  14. press — a publisher
  15. spring — the season
  16. net — in sport
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. net — for catching
  20. band — a music group
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. board — to get on

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