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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: cap · bass · stock · chair · spell · wake · march · scale

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  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. march — the month
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. spell — magic
  4. scale — in music
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. chair — a leader
  7. stock — shares
  8. bass — low music
  9. stock — goods
  10. bass — the fish
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — of ice
  14. spell — a short time
  15. march — the month
  16. cap — a hat
  17. march — music
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. spell — letters
  20. wake — a trail
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. scale — size or range
  23. chair — a professorship
  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