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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: chest · pit · fall · bass · firm · net · cell · straw

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. cell — a phone
  3. net — for catching
  4. firm — a company
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. bass — the fish
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. chest — a box
  11. bass — low music
  12. firm — decided
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. net — in sport
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pit — in a race
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. firm — steady
  20. fall — the season
  21. net — after costs
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  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