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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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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 · club · bass · staff · mouse · race · current · cell

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. club — for golf
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. cell — a phone
  6. club — for dancing
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. current — happening now
  11. current — electric
  12. staff — employees
  13. cell — in biology
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bass — the fish
  17. current — of water
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. staff — employees
  20. race — a contest
  21. club — a group
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. staff — a stick

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