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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. swing — in golf
  4. press — a publisher
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. cold — not warm
  7. swing — music
  8. row — a line
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — to push
  16. swing — to play on
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. rest — what's left
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. game — a match
  24. bass — low 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