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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bass — low music
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. track — to keep track
  14. wound — an injury
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bass — the fish
  17. press — to push
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. press — newspapers
  20. squash — to crush
  21. track — a song
  22. press — a publisher
  23. track — a path
  24. rock — music

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