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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: bass · press · bay · squash · stock · staff · chest · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. chest — of your body
  3. staff — employees
  4. press — a publisher
  5. staff — employees
  6. press — newspapers
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. bass — the fish
  11. cold — an illness
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. press — to push
  16. bass — low music
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — goods
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. stock — shares
  23. staff — a stick
  24. chest — a box

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