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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. press — newspapers
  4. press — a publisher
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. hand — help
  7. degree — temperature
  8. press — to push
  9. content — happy
  10. bass — the fish
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. hand — in cards
  14. rock — music
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. bass — low music
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. pitch — completely
  20. rock — a stone
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. content — the amount
  24. degree — from a university

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