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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: bass · tube · chair · march · drill · chest · cabinet · ball

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. tube — the underground
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. drill — army training
  7. ball — a great time
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. tube — a container
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chair — a leader
  13. drill — the tool
  14. ball — a dance
  15. march — music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. drill — a practice
  18. march — the month
  19. bass — the fish
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. bass — low music
  23. chest — a box
  24. tube — in a tire

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