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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 116 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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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: mate · fall · ground · bass · club · nail · plane · straw

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mate — a partner
  3. plane — a tool
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. ground — a position
  6. club — for dancing
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. club — for golf
  10. mate — a friend
  11. bass — the fish
  12. fall — to drop
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. fall — the season
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. mate — to breed
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. ground — crushed
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. fall — to drop
  23. club — a group
  24. nail — for a hammer

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