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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: rock · fork · spring · rest · chair · shower · band · press

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. fork — in a road
  3. band — a music group
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — of water
  6. shower — to wash
  7. rock — music
  8. shower — rain
  9. chair — a leader
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. rock — a stone
  12. band — a ring
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — newspapers
  17. rest — what's left
  18. spring — a coil
  19. press — to push
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. rock — to move gently

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