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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. bass — low music
  3. spring — of water
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. press — newspapers
  6. pitch — completely
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bass — the fish
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. press — a publisher
  13. chair — a leader
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. cold — not warm
  17. spring — the season
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. press — to push
  21. cold — an illness
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mouse — for a computer

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