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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: chair · wax · row · sharp · last · bass · scale · stem

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. chair — a leader
  3. sharp — clever
  4. scale — size or range
  5. row — to paddle
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. last — final
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bass — the fish
  14. row — a line
  15. last — finally
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. last — to go on
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. stem — to come from
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bass — low music
  24. stem — of a plant

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