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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: hide · bound · club · field · snap · spring · wax · press

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. club — for golf
  3. press — to push
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. wax — to grow
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. press — a publisher
  9. bound — obliged
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. bound — certain
  13. spring — of water
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. field — for sport
  16. snap — to click
  17. field — farmland
  18. bound — tied together
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. field — a subject
  21. spring — the season
  22. club — for dancing
  23. club — a group
  24. spring — a coil

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