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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: present · bass · scale · file · chest · band · court · kick

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. bass — low music
  3. chest — of your body
  4. scale — size or range
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. chest — a box
  8. band — a ring
  9. court — of law
  10. court — of a king
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. file — a tool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — there
  16. court — for sport
  17. file — a document
  18. scale — in music
  19. kick — in football
  20. band — a music group
  21. bass — the fish
  22. present — the time now
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. file — a line of people

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