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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. spring — the season
  3. press — to push
  4. can — a tin
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. can — to be able to
  9. rash — a series
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. spring — a coil
  15. fall — to drop
  16. press — a publisher
  17. rash — hasty
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. press — newspapers
  21. fall — the season
  22. spring — of water
  23. branch — of a bank
  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