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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. band — a music group
  3. press — newspapers
  4. bass — low music
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. band — a ring
  10. rule — government
  11. press — to push
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. rule — a law
  16. press — a publisher
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. band — a rubber band

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