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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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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 · ball · wave · band · chair · wound · wind · vault

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a great time
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ball — a dance
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — to push
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. band — a music group
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. press — a publisher
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wound — an injury
  24. vault — a safe

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