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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: press · band · tear · fan · pitcher · field · bark · bound

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bound — obliged
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. band — a ring
  6. bound — certain
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. tear — to rip
  9. press — to push
  10. bark — to shout
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bound — tied together
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. band — a music group
  19. tear — from crying
  20. field — for sport
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fan — a supporter

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