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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: staff · field · bass · wind · bat · stock · mug · chair

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. field — farmland
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bass — low music
  10. mug — a face
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. field — for sport
  14. stock — goods
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bass — the fish
  17. wind — moving air
  18. staff — employees
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. stock — shares
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. mug — to rob
  23. bat — the animal
  24. field — a subject

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