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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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Word bank
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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: press · chip · charge · fine · cold · coach · bass · wind

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. chip — for betting
  3. press — to push
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. press — newspapers
  6. charge — a price
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. fine — high quality
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bass — the fish
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. press — a publisher
  15. fine — all right
  16. wind — moving air
  17. charge — in control
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. charge — electricity
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — to eat
  24. cold — the Cold War

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