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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bass — low music
  3. press — a publisher
  4. stock — goods
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. stock — shares
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bass — the fish
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. press — newspapers
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. press — to push
  22. vault — a safe
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. stock — a soup base

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