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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.

Make a worksheet

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: ruler · cold · chair · last · bass · pitch

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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 — not warm
  2. bass — low music
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bass — the fish
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. last — final
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — completely
  14. last — finally
  15. last — to go on
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. cold — an illness
  18. chair — a leader

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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