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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. bass — low music
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. chest — of your body
  7. row — a line
  8. rest — what's left
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rock — music
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. chest — a box
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. row — to paddle
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. rest — a break
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. rest — what's left
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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