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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: ground · clip · mark · wind · press · lean · band · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. press — to push
  3. band — a music group
  4. mark — a grade
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. press — newspapers
  10. band — a ring
  11. ground — crushed
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. lean — to bend
  14. rule — a law
  15. clip — a video
  16. wind — moving air
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wind — moving air
  19. ground — the earth
  20. press — a publisher
  21. ground — a position
  22. clip — to cut
  23. mark — a trace
  24. lean — thin

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