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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 120 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — low music
  3. shower — rain
  4. key — for a lock
  5. cell — a phone
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. saw — the tool
  8. press — newspapers
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. key — in music
  11. key — the most important part
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. shower — to wash
  14. saw — the tool
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. cell — in biology
  17. press — to push
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. dip — to sink
  24. press — a publisher

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