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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. cap — a hat
  3. bass — the fish
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. press — newspapers
  8. cap — a lid
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a tool
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. cap — of ice
  13. game — a match
  14. press — a publisher
  15. tube — the underground
  16. lean — thin
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. file — a line of people
  19. tube — a container
  20. press — to push
  21. lean — to bend
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. bark — to shout
  24. lean — to rest against

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