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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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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: cap · club · pit · bass · wake · press · rash · chest

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. club — for dancing
  3. rash — a series
  4. club — for golf
  5. press — newspapers
  6. club — a group
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pit — in a race
  11. chest — a box
  12. press — a publisher
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — a hat
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. wake — a trail
  17. rash — hasty
  18. pit — a hole
  19. bass — low music
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. press — to push
  22. bass — the fish
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. chest — of your body

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