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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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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: rule · wind · squash · land · band · craft · press · stem

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. squash — to crush
  3. land — a country
  4. craft — a skill
  5. land — ground
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. press — a publisher
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — government
  13. press — newspapers
  14. wind — moving air
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. craft — boats
  18. press — to push
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. rule — a law
  21. land — to come down
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. squash — the sport

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