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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: land · present · band · board · mug · spell · clip · press

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. spell — letters
  5. band — a ring
  6. spell — magic
  7. mug — a cup
  8. clip — to cut
  9. press — to push
  10. board — a committee
  11. spell — a short time
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — there
  14. press — newspapers
  15. mug — to rob
  16. board — to get on
  17. press — a publisher
  18. clip — a video
  19. land — a country
  20. mug — a face
  21. band — a music group
  22. clip — for paper
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. present — the time now

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