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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 124 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bass — low music
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — a trail
  5. race — humankind
  6. press — to push
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. press — newspapers
  9. bass — the fish
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. press — a publisher
  12. race — the arms race
  13. court — of law
  14. chest — of your body
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. race — a contest
  24. mine — belonging to me

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