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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: tube · bound · press · last · pound · band · tear · hand

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. last — finally
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — a container
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bound — obliged
  8. hand — in cards
  9. press — newspapers
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bound — certain
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. tear — to rip
  14. last — to go on
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a music group
  17. hand — help
  18. bound — tied together
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. last — final
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — to push
  24. pound — a weight

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