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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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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: tear · chest · fall · rash · saw · lash · bass · arm

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fall — to drop
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. rash — a series
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bass — low music
  8. fall — the season
  9. rash — hasty
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bass — the fish
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. tear — from crying
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. tear — to rip
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. saw — the tool
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. rash — on the skin

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