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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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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: cap · pitcher · bass · key · face · scale · chest · lean

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. face — part of the head
  8. key — the most important part
  9. cap — a lid
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the fish
  12. lean — to bend
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — in music
  15. cap — a hat
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. chest — of your body
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — to confront
  21. key — in music
  22. key — for a lock
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. cap — of ice

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