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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: cue · bass · chair · arm · temple · cold

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chair — a leader
  8. cue — for pool
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — the fish
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cue — a hint
  13. bass — low music
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cue — a signal
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. arm — a part of something

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