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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mine — for digging
  5. press — a publisher
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. press — to push
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pop — soda
  12. stock — goods
  13. chest — of your body
  14. press — newspapers
  15. swing — in golf
  16. chest — a box
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. bass — the fish
  19. stock — shares
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pop — music
  22. pop — to visit
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bass — the instrument

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