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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: hand · charge · bay · cold · tear · bass · clip · press

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. cold — an illness
  5. hand — help
  6. clip — to cut
  7. tear — from crying
  8. charge — a price
  9. hand — in cards
  10. press — a publisher
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. press — newspapers
  13. tear — to rip
  14. clip — a video
  15. charge — in control
  16. cold — not warm
  17. press — to push
  18. bass — the fish
  19. charge — electricity
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bass — low music
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bay — a horse colour

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