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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  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. press — newspapers
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — music
  4. cold — not warm
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. cold — an illness
  7. branch — a division
  8. press — a publisher
  9. key — for a lock
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. spring — of water
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — low music
  16. key — the most important part
  17. pop — soda
  18. scale — in music
  19. spring — the season
  20. scale — size or range
  21. spring — a coil
  22. press — to push
  23. key — in music
  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