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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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468
Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bass — the fish
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. kick — in football
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — to come from
  12. scale — in music
  13. bass — low music
  14. tear — to rip
  15. press — a publisher
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. object — an aim
  19. object — to protest
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. ball — a dance
  22. object — a thing
  23. press — newspapers
  24. scale — size or range

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