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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.

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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: snap · bass · bay · spell · chair · cell · fall · chest

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. fall — the season
  3. chest — a box
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bass — low music
  7. snap — to click
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. fall — to drop
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. chest — of your body
  20. spell — magic
  21. chair — a leader
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. spell — letters

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