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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bass — low music
  5. stock — shares
  6. spell — letters
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mine — for digging
  10. spell — magic
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. stock — goods
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bass — the fish
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pop — music
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. pop — soda
  24. leaves — to go away

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