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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · face · scale · snap · clip · hand · firm · bass

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. clip — a video
  3. firm — decided
  4. scale — in music
  5. clip — for paper
  6. firm — steady
  7. snap — to click
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bass — low music
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. hand — help
  15. firm — a company
  16. scale — size or range
  17. face — to point toward
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. hand — in cards
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. face — to confront
  22. clip — to cut
  23. face — part of the head
  24. bass — the fish

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