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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. charge — electricity
  6. net — in sport
  7. charge — in control
  8. bass — the fish
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. press — to push
  12. bass — low music
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. net — after costs
  19. press — a publisher
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. charge — a price
  23. press — newspapers
  24. net — for catching

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