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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · rule · mine · band · press · bark · pit · trunk

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. rule — a law
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. press — newspapers
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. rule — government
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. band — a music group
  17. press — to push
  18. season — in sport
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. season — of the year
  21. pit — in a race
  22. mine — for digging
  23. band — a ring
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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