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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 116 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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. stock — goods
  3. lie — to recline
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. game — a match
  11. shower — rain
  12. ball — a dance
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bass — the fish
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. ball — a great time
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. stock — shares
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. bass — low music
  24. chair — a professorship

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