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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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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: kid · chest · straw · cell · fork · bass

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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. chest — a box
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cell — in biology
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. chest — of your body
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bass — low music
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. fork — in a road

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