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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: rash · fall · wound · bound · press · roll · tube · snap

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. fall — the season
  3. bound — certain
  4. roll — a list
  5. press — to push
  6. roll — a cake
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bound — tied together
  9. wound — an injury
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. tube — a container
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rash — a series
  14. fall — to drop
  15. tube — the underground
  16. snap — to click
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bound — obliged
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. press — newspapers
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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