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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. wind — moving air
  4. press — to push
  5. rash — hasty
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — to get on
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. land — a country
  12. land — ground
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bass — the fish
  21. rash — a series
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. land — to come down
  24. press — newspapers

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