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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. staff — employees
  2. ball — a dance
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. stock — shares
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bass — low music
  9. staff — a stick
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. ball — a great time
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bat — the animal
  15. staff — employees
  16. mine — for digging
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. stock — goods
  21. bass — the fish
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bat — for baseball
  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