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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: foot · pitch · vault · stock · chair · bass · temple · cold

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bass — low music
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pitch — completely
  9. vault — a safe
  10. foot — a measure
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — shares
  16. bass — the fish
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. chair — to sit on

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