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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. net — for catching
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — the fish
  5. rash — hasty
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. net — after costs
  8. press — a publisher
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. drill — army training
  12. race — the arms race
  13. branch — a division
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. row — to paddle
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bass — low music
  19. row — a line
  20. net — in sport
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. press — newspapers
  23. drill — the tool
  24. press — to push

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