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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. current — electric
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. kick — in football
  6. press — to push
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stand — to bear
  9. squash — to crush
  10. bass — the fish
  11. squash — the sport
  12. tear — from crying
  13. press — newspapers
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. saw — the tool
  16. current — of water
  17. press — a publisher
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. saw — the tool
  22. tear — to rip
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. current — happening now

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