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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: race · chair · land · bass · pop · chest · pound · cue

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. bass — low music
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. pop — music
  5. land — a country
  6. pop — soda
  7. bass — the fish
  8. cue — a hint
  9. chair — a leader
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. race — a contest
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cue — a signal
  15. chest — of your body
  16. land — ground
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. chest — of your body
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. land — to come down
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. race — humankind

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