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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: chair · net · cell · content · bass · rule · racket · stand

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. stand — to bear
  4. rule — government
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. bass — the fish
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bass — low music
  10. content — the amount
  11. rule — a law
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. net — for catching
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — after costs
  20. content — happy
  21. cell — a phone
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. content — videos and posts

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