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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. saw — the tool
  5. press — a publisher
  6. mate — a friend
  7. press — to push
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. shower — rain
  10. bass — low music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. bass — the fish
  14. swing — to play on
  15. press — newspapers
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. mate — a partner
  21. shower — to wash
  22. bark — to shout
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. swing — music

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