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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: wind · press · bass · rash · craft · bark · board · game

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. rash — hasty
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. press — to push
  7. rash — a series
  8. board — to get on
  9. bark — to shout
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. craft — a skill
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. game — wild animals
  15. craft — boats
  16. board — a committee
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. press — newspapers
  19. bass — low music
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  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