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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 120 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bound — certain
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. press — to push
  7. bound — tied together
  8. drill — a practice
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. cold — an illness
  12. drill — the tool
  13. press — newspapers
  14. drill — army training
  15. bat — the animal
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. bass — low music
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bound — obliged
  21. perch — the fish
  22. lean — thin
  23. press — a publisher
  24. perch — for a bird

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