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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. press — newspapers
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bass — low music
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. shower — rain
  9. saw — the tool
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. shower — to wash
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. press — a publisher
  17. cell — a phone
  18. press — to push

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