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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 120 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: press · fall · bulb · wind · bank · file · content · board

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fall — to drop
  4. board — to get on
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. content — happy
  7. fall — to drop
  8. press — to push
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. file — a document
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. board — a committee
  14. bank — for money
  15. file — a tool
  16. bulb — for light
  17. fall — the season
  18. bank — of a river
  19. press — a publisher
  20. press — newspapers
  21. content — the amount
  22. bank — for money
  23. bulb — for light
  24. file — a line of people

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