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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 120 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 · cold · present · march · bound · press · vault · hand

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. land — to come down
  3. cold — an illness
  4. press — a publisher
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. hand — help
  7. present — the time now
  8. cold — not warm
  9. present — a gift
  10. vault — a safe
  11. land — a country
  12. press — newspapers
  13. march — the month
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. present — there
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bound — certain
  18. press — to push
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. land — ground
  21. march — the month
  22. bound — obliged
  23. march — music
  24. hand — in cards

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