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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
468
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: bass · plane · leaves · saw · fine · spring · press · chest

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fine — high quality
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. spring — the season
  10. press — to push
  11. bass — the fish
  12. chest — of your body
  13. spring — of water
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — a tool
  19. press — a publisher
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bass — low music
  22. press — newspapers
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. saw — the tool

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