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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. scale — size or range
  3. press — newspapers
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. press — a publisher
  12. saw — the tool
  13. press — to push
  14. bear — the animal
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — after costs
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bear — the animal
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. scale — in music
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. net — for catching
  24. saw — the 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