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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: fan · spring · press · rash · present · fall · bass · clip

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. press — newspapers
  4. clip — to cut
  5. fall — the season
  6. press — a publisher
  7. clip — for paper
  8. present — the time now
  9. spring — of water
  10. present — there
  11. rash — hasty
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. present — a gift
  15. clip — a video
  16. rash — a series
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the fish
  21. spring — the season
  22. press — to push
  23. spring — a coil
  24. fall — to drop

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