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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: capital · last · pit · file · firm · bass · scale · chest

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — low music
  5. file — a tool
  6. scale — size or range
  7. firm — decided
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. chest — of your body
  10. last — final
  11. pit — a hole
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a city
  14. last — finally
  15. firm — steady
  16. file — a line of people
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. file — a document
  20. pit — in a race
  21. chest — a box
  22. last — to go on
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — for weighing

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