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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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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: plane · straw · squash · chest · toast · pass · tube · scale

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. squash — to crush
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. pass — a permit
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. toast — bread
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. tube — the underground
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. scale — size or range
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. tube — a container
  17. plane — a tool
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. squash — the sport
  21. scale — in music
  22. chest — of your body
  23. straw — dry grass
  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