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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: lie · press · bass · bark · field · bound · fall · band

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. lie — to recline
  3. band — a music group
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. press — to push
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. fall — to drop
  10. press — a publisher
  11. fall — the season
  12. bound — certain
  13. field — a subject
  14. bass — low music
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. field — farmland
  19. bound — tied together
  20. field — for sport
  21. press — newspapers
  22. band — a ring
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bark — to shout

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