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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: last · file · press · bound · club · wake · land · current

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. file — a tool
  5. land — a country
  6. current — of water
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. land — to come down
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bound — certain
  12. club — a group
  13. press — newspapers
  14. file — a line of people
  15. wake — a trail
  16. last — finally
  17. file — a document
  18. land — ground
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. current — happening now
  21. club — for golf
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — tied together
  24. current — electric

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