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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 120 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: race · bass · press · ground · game · hand · rock · branch

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. race — humankind
  3. press — a publisher
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. game — a match
  8. race — a contest
  9. bass — the fish
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. ground — crushed
  13. rock — music
  14. race — the arms race
  15. ground — the earth
  16. hand — in cards
  17. press — newspapers
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. press — to push
  20. game — wild animals
  21. rock — a stone
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. rock — to move gently

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