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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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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 · jam · band · club · mine · firm · bark · deal

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. press — a publisher
  3. bark — to shout
  4. mine — for digging
  5. club — for golf
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. press — to push
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. club — a group
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. club — for dancing
  14. deal — to handle
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. firm — decided
  18. press — newspapers
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. firm — steady
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. band — a rubber band

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