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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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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: march · pass · stem · kick · scale · bass · chest · wind

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. march — the month
  10. scale — size or range
  11. march — the month
  12. kick — in football
  13. chest — a box
  14. pass — a permit
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bass — the fish
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. march — music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. scale — in music

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