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

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. pound — a weight
  3. bass — low music
  4. bank — for money
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. chest — of your body
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bank — of a river
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bank — for money
  13. press — newspapers
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wound — an injury
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. press — a publisher
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. chest — a box
  24. stem — a stem cell

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