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

Word bank: stick · bat · chair · press · race · hide · pit · bass

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. press — newspapers
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pit — a hole
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. race — the arms race
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bass — low music
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. bass — the fish
  16. pit — in a race
  17. race — humankind
  18. press — a publisher
  19. bat — the animal
  20. race — a contest
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. press — to push
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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