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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — a committee
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. ground — crushed
  10. board — to get on
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. chair — a leader
  13. game — a match
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. cell — in biology
  17. ground — the earth
  18. cell — a phone
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bass — the fish
  22. ground — a position
  23. stand — to bear
  24. chair — to sit on

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