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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: mouse · game · ground · track · bass · press · cold · foot

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bass — the fish
  3. ground — the earth
  4. track — a path
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. press — newspapers
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. track — a song
  13. ground — a position
  14. press — a publisher
  15. cold — not warm
  16. foot — a measure
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. press — to push
  21. bass — low music
  22. game — a match
  23. ground — crushed
  24. track — to keep track

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