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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: fall · field · bark · bass · press · fan · wound · club

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. press — to push
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fall — the season
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. club — for golf
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bass — low music
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. press — newspapers
  13. field — farmland
  14. press — a publisher
  15. field — a subject
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. field — for sport
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. club — a group
  22. bass — the fish
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fall — to drop

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