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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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468
Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. press — to push
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. fall — the season
  6. cell — in biology
  7. press — newspapers
  8. plane — a tool
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cell — a phone
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. cold — not warm
  13. press — a publisher
  14. cold — an illness
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. fall — to drop
  18. content — the amount
  19. bass — low music
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. content — happy
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. fall — to drop

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