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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: bound · ball · wound · clip · pitcher · stem · press · temple

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. press — to push
  5. bound — obliged
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bound — certain
  10. stem — to come from
  11. ball — a dance
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. ball — a great time
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. press — a publisher
  18. clip — a video
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. clip — for paper
  21. press — newspapers
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. bound — tied together

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