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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: band · can · press · mine · straw · wake · bound · cold

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. can — a tin
  3. cold — not warm
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. can — a tin
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cold — an illness
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. can — to be able to
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. press — newspapers
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. press — a publisher
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bound — tied together
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. band — a ring
  20. press — to push
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bound — obliged

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