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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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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: press · wind · leaves · face · bound · spell · rush · pitcher

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. face — to confront
  3. bound — obliged
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. spell — magic
  6. press — to push
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. bound — tied together
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. spell — a short time
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. face — to point toward
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. face — part of the head
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. press — a publisher
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. bound — certain
  24. rush — hurry

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