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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. race — humankind
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — to paddle
  7. kick — in football
  8. press — to push
  9. race — the arms race
  10. squash — to crush
  11. press — a publisher
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — after costs
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. chest — a box
  16. squash — the sport
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. row — a line
  19. race — a contest
  20. bass — the fish
  21. net — in sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bass — low music
  24. press — newspapers

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