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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: chest · wave · bass · row · scale · chair · stick · fall

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. fall — the season
  3. bass — low music
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. row — a line
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. bass — the fish
  12. scale — in music
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. chest — of your body
  17. scale — size or range
  18. fall — to drop
  19. chest — a box
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. fall — to drop
  24. chest — of your body

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