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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. rash — a series
  3. sharp — clever
  4. bass — low music
  5. root — of a word
  6. press — a publisher
  7. land — ground
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. stem — to come from
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. root — of a plant
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. wax — to grow
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — to push
  20. land — a country
  21. root — the cause
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. land — to come down

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