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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: lash · mug · degree · chest · press · game · bass · mine

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. mug — a face
  3. chest — of your body
  4. press — newspapers
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — to push
  11. degree — an amount
  12. mug — a cup
  13. mine — for digging
  14. chest — a box
  15. game — a match
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. mug — to rob
  19. degree — from a university
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. chest — of your body
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bass — the instrument

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