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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bass — low music
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bass — the fish
  5. face — to confront
  6. clip — to cut
  7. face — part of the head
  8. rash — hasty
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. fall — the season
  12. clip — for paper
  13. press — a publisher
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. press — to push
  16. face — to point toward
  17. clip — a video
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. press — newspapers
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. chair — a leader
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. rash — a series

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