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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: current · date · face · fork · press · bass · court · saw

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. court — of law
  3. press — a publisher
  4. court — for sport
  5. face — to confront
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. current — electric
  8. court — of a king
  9. press — newspapers
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. face — to point toward
  13. press — to push
  14. fork — in a road
  15. current — of water
  16. bass — low music
  17. face — part of the head
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. date — the fruit
  23. current — happening now
  24. bass — the fish

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