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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.

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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: date · bass · cap · press · scale · drill · straw · net

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. net — after costs
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. press — to push
  5. drill — army training
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. net — in sport
  10. bass — low music
  11. cap — a lid
  12. scale — size or range
  13. bass — the fish
  14. drill — the tool
  15. date — the fruit
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. net — for catching
  18. press — a publisher
  19. cap — a hat
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. drill — a practice
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. scale — in music
  24. press — newspapers

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