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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · kick · land · scale · spell · chest · bark · chip

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. kick — in football
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — low music
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. scale — in music
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. spell — letters
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. land — ground
  15. scale — size or range
  16. chip — for betting
  17. spell — magic
  18. land — a country
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. bark — to shout
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. chip — to eat
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. chest — of your body

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