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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: march · bass · wake · bound · stem · press · rash · wound

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. rash — hasty
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — tied together
  7. press — newspapers
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bound — certain
  10. rash — a series
  11. wake — a trail
  12. march — the month
  13. bass — low music
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. march — the month
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. march — music
  18. wound — an injury
  19. press — to push
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. press — a publisher
  23. stem — to come from
  24. bass — the fish

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