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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: bound · shower · press · bowl · mine · band · field · stand

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  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. bound — certain
  2. press — a publisher
  3. shower — to wash
  4. field — a subject
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. field — for sport
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. stand — to bear
  9. band — a ring
  10. press — newspapers
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bound — tied together
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. shower — rain
  18. field — farmland
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bound — obliged
  21. press — to push
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. band — a music group
  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