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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: mark · chest · race · scale · wind · kid · bass · chair

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kid — child
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a leader
  10. race — the arms race
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. race — humankind
  15. mark — a trace
  16. race — a contest
  17. mark — a grade
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. scale — in music
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — low music
  24. scale — size or range

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