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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. press — to push
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bass — low music
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. pound — a weight
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. press — newspapers
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. deal — to handle
  18. spring — a coil
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. press — a publisher
  21. bass — the fish
  22. sharp — clever
  23. spring — of water
  24. trunk — of a tree

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