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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: prune · fork · rule · board · straw · band · field · press

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. press — a publisher
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rule — government
  5. band — a ring
  6. board — to get on
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. field — a subject
  13. band — a music group
  14. rule — a law
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. board — a committee
  19. prune — to trim
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fork — in a road
  22. prune — to trim
  23. press — to push
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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