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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  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. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. present — the time now
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. rock — music
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. present — a gift
  13. snap — to click
  14. fall — to drop
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the fish
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. rock — a stone
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. present — there
  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