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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.

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: cue · chair · cap · face · file · march · bass · pitcher

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the fish
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. file — a line of people
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. face — to point toward
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. march — the month
  10. chair — a leader
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — a hint
  14. file — a document
  15. face — to confront
  16. cue — for pool
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. cap — of ice
  19. march — the month
  20. face — part of the head
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. march — music
  23. file — a tool
  24. pitcher — a jug

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