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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  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. last — to go on
  2. bass — the fish
  3. suit — to fit
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bass — low music
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. press — a publisher
  10. last — final
  11. net — after costs
  12. snap — to click
  13. press — newspapers
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. suit — clothes
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. press — to push
  19. suit — in cards
  20. chair — a leader
  21. game — wild animals
  22. last — finally
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  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