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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: press · chest · jam · chair · wind · spell · stem · bass

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  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. bass — the instrument
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. chest — a box
  5. bass — low music
  6. chair — a leader
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chest — of your body
  14. spell — magic
  15. spell — a short time
  16. stem — to come from
  17. press — to push
  18. press — a publisher
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bass — the fish
  21. press — newspapers
  22. spell — letters
  23. chest — of your body
  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