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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. row — to paddle
  5. hand — in cards
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. land — to come down
  11. press — a publisher
  12. land — ground
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. press — newspapers
  15. bass — the fish
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. land — a country
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. kid — child
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — a line
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. kid — to tease
  24. 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