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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. press — newspapers
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bass — low music
  5. spring — of water
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. press — a publisher
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. bass — the fish
  11. sharp — clever
  12. face — to point toward
  13. wound — an injury
  14. press — to push
  15. squash — to crush
  16. face — part of the head
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. face — to confront
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. spring — a coil
  21. fork — in a road
  22. spring — the season
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. sharp — exactly

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