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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: chair · bass · craft · press · band · stock · fork · cell

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. cell — a phone
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. press — to push
  7. press — newspapers
  8. stock — goods
  9. press — a publisher
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bass — low music
  14. band — a ring
  15. craft — a skill
  16. craft — boats
  17. band — a music group
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. cell — in biology
  24. stock — shares

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