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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: wake · chair · cold · firm · band · stick · rest · bass

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. cold — not warm
  5. firm — decided
  6. chair — a leader
  7. firm — a company
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. firm — steady
  10. rest — what's left
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. band — a music group
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — a trail
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. band — a ring
  22. bass — low music
  23. cold — an illness
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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