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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
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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 · present · cold · band · lash · bass · bear · saw

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. present — the time now
  7. cold — an illness
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. press — newspapers
  11. saw — the tool
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a music group
  14. press — a publisher
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. saw — the tool
  18. press — to push
  19. present — a gift
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bass — low music
  23. present — there
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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