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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: pitcher · row · chest · leaves · dip · land · rest · bass

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. land — ground
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bass — the fish
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bass — low music
  10. rest — a break
  11. land — a country
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. chest — of your body
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. land — to come down
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. chest — a box
  21. row — to paddle
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. row — a line

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