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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: mine · ground · chest · rock · plane · bass · straw · club

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. ground — a position
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. chest — a box
  7. club — for golf
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bass — low music
  10. club — for dancing
  11. chest — of your body
  12. ground — the earth
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bass — the fish
  15. club — a group
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — music
  18. ground — crushed
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. chest — of your body
  23. plane — a tool
  24. straw — a straw man

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