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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: spring · band · bark · ruler · pit · straw · wound · press

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. spring — of water
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pit — a hole
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. band — a ring
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. press — a publisher
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wound — an injury
  17. spring — the season
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pit — in a race
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. press — newspapers
  22. band — a music group
  23. press — to push
  24. band — a rubber band

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