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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: game · season · current · bass · snap · court · press · perch

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. court — of law
  4. press — a publisher
  5. perch — the fish
  6. press — newspapers
  7. bass — low music
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — of the year
  15. game — wild animals
  16. snap — to click
  17. game — a match
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. season — in sport
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. current — electric
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — of water

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