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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: stock · cell · chair · saw · land · swing · present · pass

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. cell — a phone
  7. swing — to play on
  8. present — the time now
  9. swing — music
  10. stock — shares
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cell — in biology
  13. present — there
  14. present — a gift
  15. pass — a permit
  16. chair — a leader
  17. swing — in golf
  18. stock — goods
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. land — a country
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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