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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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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 · bat · chest · bowl · roll · bulb · stock · bass

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. chest — of your body
  3. roll — a cake
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. bat — the animal
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — low music
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bulb — for light
  16. stock — goods
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. roll — a list
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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