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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: staff · chest · bound · bass · wake · fan · craft · pitcher

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bass — the fish
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bound — obliged
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. staff — employees
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. craft — a skill
  12. staff — a stick
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. craft — boats
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — certain
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wake — a trail
  20. bass — low music
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. chest — a box
  23. staff — employees
  24. fan — a supporter

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