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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: sharp · press · ground · mine · wake · race · band · board

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. press — newspapers
  4. sharp — clever
  5. press — to push
  6. board — a committee
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — a trail
  9. band — a ring
  10. ground — a position
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. mine — for digging
  14. band — a music group
  15. ground — crushed
  16. race — humankind
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. race — the arms race
  19. ground — the earth
  20. race — a contest
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. board — to get on
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. press — a publisher

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