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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
468
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 · wind · bowl · stem · land · mate · bass · hand

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bass — the fish
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. press — to push
  8. land — a country
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. press — a publisher
  11. mate — a friend
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. hand — help
  17. bass — low music
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mate — to breed
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. hand — in cards
  24. stem — to come from

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