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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: roll · rest · band · press · cell · season · wound · last

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. rest — what's left
  3. season — of the year
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. last — finally
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — a phone
  11. band — a music group
  12. rest — what's left
  13. last — to go on
  14. press — newspapers
  15. band — a ring
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. press — a publisher
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. rest — a break
  20. season — in sport
  21. last — final
  22. roll — a list
  23. press — to push
  24. roll — a cake

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