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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: cap · bass · arm · tube · snap · fall · straw · rest

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. snap — to click
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. tube — a container
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — of ice
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. fall — the season
  14. tube — the underground
  15. cap — a hat
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. rest — a break
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. rest — what's left
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bass — the instrument

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