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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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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: bowl · chest · band · rule · press · suit · last · fall

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fall — the season
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. band — a ring
  8. rule — government
  9. suit — in cards
  10. press — newspapers
  11. last — to go on
  12. chest — of your body
  13. press — a publisher
  14. chest — a box
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. suit — to fit
  19. rule — a law
  20. last — finally
  21. last — final
  22. press — to push
  23. suit — clothes
  24. fall — to drop

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