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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: chest · nail · toast · bass · pit · craft · ground · straw

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. craft — boats
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pit — in a race
  6. ground — a position
  7. toast — bread
  8. chest — a box
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. bass — low music
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. bass — the fish
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. ground — the earth
  18. pit — a hole
  19. chest — of your body
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. ground — crushed
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. craft — a skill
  24. chest — of your body

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