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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
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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: bat · stock · rest · pass · row · current · land · chair

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. pass — a permit
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. land — a country
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. chair — a leader
  7. current — of water
  8. stock — shares
  9. land — to come down
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. current — happening now
  12. bat — the animal
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. rest — what's left
  18. current — electric
  19. rest — what's left
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. row — to paddle
  22. land — ground
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. stock — goods

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