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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 · mouse · stock · arm · cold · swing · leaves · ball

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — goods
  5. swing — to play on
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. swing — music
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cold — an illness
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. ball — a great time
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. cold — not warm
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. swing — in golf
  24. mouse — the animal

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