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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · mouse · drill · rush · club · bass · stand · cold

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for golf
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — hurry
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. chest — a box
  10. drill — a practice
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. club — for dancing
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cold — an illness
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stand — to bear
  19. drill — the tool
  20. cold — not warm
  21. drill — army training
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the fish

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