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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: press · pitcher · bound · lie · file · cold · club · land

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. file — a document
  3. land — a country
  4. land — ground
  5. bound — certain
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lie — to recline
  10. press — newspapers
  11. club — a group
  12. file — a line of people
  13. press — to push
  14. club — for dancing
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bound — obliged
  17. press — a publisher
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bound — tied together
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. land — to come down
  24. file — a tool

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