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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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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: bank · pitch · bass · chair · cold · cell

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. bank — of a river
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pitch — completely
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bank — for money
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bass — the fish
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bank — for money

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