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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 120 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 · hide · hand · bound · squash · press · wound · tube

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. wound — an injury
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. hand — help
  7. press — to push
  8. bound — certain
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. squash — to crush
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. tube — the underground
  13. lie — to recline
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wound — an injury
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. bound — tied together
  20. squash — the sport
  21. tube — a container
  22. bound — obliged
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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