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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. kid — child
  4. file — a line of people
  5. ball — a dance
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. press — a publisher
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. file — a document
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. craft — boats
  15. file — a tool
  16. ball — a great time
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. craft — a skill
  19. bass — low music
  20. press — to push
  21. toast — bread
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. press — newspapers

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