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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: deal · chair · bass · key · straw · patient · tear · press

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — in music
  4. press — to push
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. tear — to rip
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bass — the fish
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bass — low music
  11. deal — to handle
  12. press — newspapers
  13. key — for a lock
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. chair — a leader
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. press — a publisher
  21. tear — from crying
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. tear — from crying

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