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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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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: press · face · bass · deal · snap · net · cell · cabinet

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. net — in sport
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. face — to confront
  7. press — a publisher
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bass — the fish
  10. press — to push
  11. net — after costs
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. face — part of the head
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. bass — low music
  19. deal — to handle
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. snap — to click
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. net — for catching
  24. cabinet — ministers

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