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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. shower — to wash
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. land — ground
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. shower — rain
  7. press — newspapers
  8. stem — to come from
  9. file — a document
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. press — a publisher
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. land — to come down
  16. bass — low music
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. chair — a leader
  19. press — to push
  20. bass — the fish
  21. file — a line of people
  22. land — a country
  23. rock — a stone
  24. file — a tool

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