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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bass — low music
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kid — child
  8. staff — employees
  9. mine — for digging
  10. pop — soda
  11. staff — a stick
  12. key — in music
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. pop — music
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wind — moving air
  18. press — newspapers
  19. key — the most important part
  20. bass — the fish
  21. key — for a lock
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. press — to push
  24. press — a publisher

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