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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: bass · leaves · lean · prune · press · bay · shower · bat

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  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. bass — low music
  2. shower — to wash
  3. press — a publisher
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. press — to push
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. lean — to bend
  13. bat — the animal
  14. shower — rain
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. lean — thin
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. leaves — to go away
  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