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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: land · press · saw · band · field · rule · tube · rush

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. tube — the underground
  3. band — a music group
  4. press — a publisher
  5. band — a ring
  6. rush — hurry
  7. field — a subject
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. land — a country
  10. press — newspapers
  11. saw — the tool
  12. land — to come down
  13. rule — government
  14. field — for sport
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rule — a law
  17. press — to push
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. field — farmland
  20. tube — a container
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. land — ground
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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