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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. rash — a series
  4. present — there
  5. press — newspapers
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. last — final
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. pop — soda
  11. clip — for paper
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. press — to push
  14. last — to go on
  15. present — a gift
  16. bass — low music
  17. bass — the fish
  18. press — a publisher
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — to visit
  21. clip — to cut
  22. present — the time now
  23. clip — a video
  24. rash — hasty

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