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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
468
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 · mine · lash · press · chest · stock · bass · fine

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. press — a publisher
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. chest — a box
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. fine — all right
  17. fine — high quality
  18. mine — for digging
  19. press — newspapers
  20. stock — shares
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. stock — goods
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. stock — a soup base

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