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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: lean · pop · row · press · clip · present · club · bound

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. clip — to cut
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. present — the time now
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bound — tied together
  7. press — newspapers
  8. bound — obliged
  9. lean — to bend
  10. club — for dancing
  11. pop — soda
  12. present — there
  13. row — a line
  14. press — to push
  15. club — for golf
  16. bound — certain
  17. clip — a video
  18. lean — thin
  19. pop — music
  20. club — a group
  21. present — a gift
  22. clip — for paper
  23. press — a publisher
  24. row — to paddle

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