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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pitcher · jam · snap · bass · chest · cell · press · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. cell — a phone
  5. chest — of your body
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. snap — to click
  10. cell — in biology
  11. press — to push
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. chest — of your body
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. chest — a box
  21. press — a publisher
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. jam — a tight spot

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