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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · capital · season · bass · squash · foot · land · club

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. season — of the year
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. land — a country
  6. capital — money
  7. club — a group
  8. season — in sport
  9. chair — a leader
  10. capital — a city
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. squash — the sport
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. club — for golf
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. land — to come down
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. club — for dancing
  19. bass — the fish
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. foot — a measure
  22. bass — low music
  23. squash — to crush
  24. land — ground

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