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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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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 · bass · scale · wind · rule · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bass — the fish
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bass — low music
  9. scale — in music
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — size or range
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. rule — government
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. chair — a leader

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