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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: press · land · fall · sharp · last · chip · staff · band

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. press — to push
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. fall — to drop
  5. staff — employees
  6. fall — to drop
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. last — final
  9. land — to come down
  10. sharp — clever
  11. band — a ring
  12. press — newspapers
  13. land — ground
  14. fall — the season
  15. band — a music group
  16. last — to go on
  17. staff — a stick
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. chip — to eat
  20. land — a country
  21. chip — for betting
  22. press — a publisher
  23. last — finally
  24. staff — employees

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