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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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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: shower · wax · chest · bass · scale · capital · rest · chair

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. capital — a city
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. shower — rain
  5. scale — size or range
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. wax — to grow
  8. scale — in music
  9. rest — a break
  10. bass — low music
  11. rest — what's left
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. rest — what's left
  18. shower — to wash
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. chest — a box
  21. bass — the fish
  22. capital — money
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. wax — for sculpting

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