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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.

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: press · can · file · chest · bass · plane · capital · sharp

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. press — to push
  3. bass — low music
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. plane — a tool
  7. sharp — clever
  8. press — a publisher
  9. chest — a box
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a document
  12. chest — of your body
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. can — to be able to
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — a tin
  20. capital — money
  21. press — newspapers
  22. chest — of your body
  23. capital — a city
  24. file — a line of people

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