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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: press · spring · rest · wind · band · cap · cue · fine

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a ring
  3. press — a publisher
  4. fine — all right
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. rest — a break
  8. cue — a hint
  9. fine — high quality
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wind — moving air
  12. band — a music group
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cue — a signal
  16. rest — what's left
  17. spring — of water
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cue — for pool
  20. press — newspapers
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. press — to push
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — a coil

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