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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: press · land · spring · bound · pass · trunk · file · pitcher

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. land — ground
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bound — certain
  5. land — to come down
  6. press — newspapers
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. press — to push
  9. press — a publisher
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. spring — the season
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. bound — tied together
  14. land — a country
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. file — a line of people
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. pass — a permit
  21. spring — a coil
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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