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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. press — to push
  3. chest — of your body
  4. game — a match
  5. press — a publisher
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — a hat
  8. shower — to wash
  9. prune — to trim
  10. board — to get on
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bass — low music
  14. shower — rain
  15. bass — the fish
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. board — a committee
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. press — newspapers
  23. cap — of ice
  24. game — a kind of play

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