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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: sharp · mouse · date · drill · cold · bass · press · trunk

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. press — to push
  3. drill — army training
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the fish
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. press — a publisher
  10. cold — not warm
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. drill — a practice
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. press — newspapers
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. drill — the tool
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. date — the fruit

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