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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: press · ball · plane · bass · hand · mine · net · cell

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ball — a dance
  4. mine — for digging
  5. net — in sport
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. net — after costs
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — low music
  11. press — a publisher
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. plane — a tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. net — for catching
  16. hand — help
  17. press — newspapers
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bass — the fish
  23. press — to push
  24. mine — an explosive

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