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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: ground · mine · tube · fall · bass · press · cold · bowl

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. fall — to drop
  3. press — newspapers
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. fall — the season
  8. bass — low music
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. ground — a position
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. tube — the underground
  18. cold — not warm
  19. press — to push
  20. fall — to drop
  21. ground — the earth
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. press — a publisher
  24. tube — a container

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