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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: rash · staff · chair · tube · fall · roll · bass · cue

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. chair — a leader
  6. cue — a signal
  7. staff — employees
  8. tube — a container
  9. bass — the fish
  10. staff — a stick
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. roll — a list
  13. staff — employees
  14. cue — for pool
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. cue — a hint
  17. roll — a cake
  18. fall — the season
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — a series
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tube — the underground
  24. chair — to sit on

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