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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.

Make a worksheet

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
YesNo
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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: fan · racket · chair · face · bass · cold · press · can

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. face — to confront
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. face — to point toward
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bass — the fish
  13. press — newspapers
  14. face — part of the head
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. cold — an illness
  17. press — to push
  18. press — a publisher
  19. can — to be able to
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bass — low music
  22. can — a tin
  23. chair — a leader
  24. can — a tin

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