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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bass — low music
  4. cold — an illness
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — in sport
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. hand — in cards
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. press — a publisher
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. net — after costs
  15. rest — a break
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. cold — not warm
  19. press — newspapers
  20. rest — what's left
  21. press — to push
  22. rest — what's left
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. bass — the fish

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