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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: wind · press · prune · vault · club · march · jam · band

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — moving air
  4. march — music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. club — for golf
  9. press — to push
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. march — the month
  12. press — newspapers
  13. prune — to trim
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. vault — a safe
  16. band — a music group
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. march — the month
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. club — for dancing
  22. band — a ring
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. club — a group

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