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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 116 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: hand · bear · band · wind · press · rash · pop · board

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — to push
  5. pop — music
  6. rash — a series
  7. pop — soda
  8. hand — help
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bear — the animal
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — to get on
  13. pop — to visit
  14. press — newspapers
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rash — hasty
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bear — the animal
  22. band — a music group
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. board — a committee

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