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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: bass · game · press · mine · perch · dip · net · scale

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mine — for digging
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bass — the fish
  7. scale — in music
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. game — a match
  11. net — in sport
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. net — after costs
  14. scale — size or range
  15. dip — to sink
  16. press — to push
  17. press — newspapers
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. net — for catching
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. perch — the fish
  24. scale — for weighing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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