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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bass — low music
  3. land — ground
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. lean — thin
  7. staff — a stick
  8. chair — a leader
  9. club — a group
  10. stock — goods
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. club — for dancing
  15. lean — to bend
  16. club — for golf
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. bass — the fish
  19. stock — shares
  20. land — a country
  21. staff — employees
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. staff — employees

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