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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: swing · spring · squash · bat · chest · pit · press · bass

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. spring — of water
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — to push
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — music
  8. pit — a hole
  9. swing — in golf
  10. squash — to crush
  11. pit — in a race
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bass — low music
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bass — the fish
  17. spring — a coil
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. spring — the season
  22. squash — the sport
  23. chest — a box
  24. press — newspapers

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