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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: band · mate · track · pound · saw · press · wake · bowl

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. press — a publisher
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. mate — a partner
  11. press — newspapers
  12. track — a song
  13. band — a ring
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. pound — a weight
  17. mate — to breed
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. wake — a trail
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. saw — the tool
  24. track — a path

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