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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.

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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: chair · bass · scale · wind · rule · cold · calf · date

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bass — the fish
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. scale — size or range
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bass — low music
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. scale — in music
  20. date — the fruit
  21. rule — government
  22. cold — an illness
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. chair — a leader

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