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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: bass · chip · kid · scale · fall · spring · cue · key

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bass — the fish
  3. key — the most important part
  4. kid — child
  5. spring — of water
  6. fall — the season
  7. chip — for betting
  8. spring — a coil
  9. fall — to drop
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cue — a signal
  13. key — for a lock
  14. bass — low music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. cue — a hint
  17. spring — the season
  18. cue — for pool
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. key — in music
  22. scale — in music
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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