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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 120 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: ball · stem · pit · chest · pop · bass · season · stock

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. ball — a great time
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. pit — a hole
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. stock — shares
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. pop — music
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bass — low music
  12. stock — goods
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pop — soda
  15. bass — the fish
  16. pop — to visit
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. stem — to come from
  21. ball — a dance
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. season — in sport

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