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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
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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: march · kick · spring · current · game · chest · bass · press

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. current — electric
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. spring — a coil
  6. press — to push
  7. current — happening now
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. game — a match
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bass — low music
  17. game — wild animals
  18. march — the month
  19. kick — in football
  20. press — a publisher
  21. current — of water
  22. bass — the fish
  23. kick — with a leg
  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