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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. rock — music
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. pit — a hole
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. present — the time now
  9. march — the month
  10. staff — employees
  11. present — there
  12. present — a gift
  13. stock — shares
  14. bass — low music
  15. chest — a box
  16. rock — a stone
  17. bass — the fish
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. chest — of your body
  20. march — the month
  21. pit — in a race
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stock — goods
  24. march — music

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