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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: firm · band · season · chair · pound · press · roll · spring

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. roll — a cake
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. firm — steady
  4. spring — a coil
  5. press — newspapers
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. spring — the season
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. band — a ring
  10. firm — a company
  11. pound — a weight
  12. band — a music group
  13. press — to push
  14. spring — of water
  15. season — of the year
  16. chair — a leader
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. season — in sport
  20. press — a publisher
  21. roll — a list
  22. firm — decided
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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