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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. net — for catching
  4. press — a publisher
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. squash — the sport
  7. press — to push
  8. bass — the fish
  9. lean — to bend
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. net — in sport
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. lean — thin
  14. net — after costs
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. chair — a leader
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bass — low music
  22. press — newspapers
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. squash — the vegetable

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