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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 120 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: plane · press · bass · shower · mug · branch · chair · face

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. branch — a division
  3. press — to push
  4. bass — the fish
  5. mug — a face
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. press — a publisher
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. chair — a leader
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. face — part of the head
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. bass — low music
  17. shower — to wash
  18. press — newspapers
  19. face — to confront
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. mug — a cup
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. mug — to rob

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