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

Word bank: bass · staff · kick · fall · straw · tear

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. staff — employees
  3. kick — in football
  4. tear — from crying
  5. staff — a stick
  6. bass — low music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. fall — to drop
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. staff — employees
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. fall — the season
  18. kick — with a leg

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