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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bass — low music
  3. fall — the season
  4. club — a group
  5. squash — the sport
  6. march — the month
  7. hand — in cards
  8. squash — to crush
  9. club — for dancing
  10. rock — music
  11. press — newspapers
  12. march — the month
  13. hand — help
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. march — music
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. press — to push
  19. rock — a stone
  20. press — a publisher
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. club — for golf
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. bass — the fish

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