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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. spell — letters
  3. press — to push
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. press — newspapers
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. fall — to drop
  8. spell — magic
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bass — low music
  12. wax — to grow
  13. game — wild animals
  14. fall — the season
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. club — for golf
  17. press — a publisher
  18. game — a match
  19. spell — a short time
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bass — the fish
  22. club — for dancing
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bass — the instrument

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