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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: chair · can · roll · rash · bass · squash · land · safe

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. land — ground
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bass — low music
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. roll — a list
  8. rash — a series
  9. land — a country
  10. bass — the fish
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. can — to be able to
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. roll — a cake
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. rash — hasty
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — a tin
  23. roll — on a roll
  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