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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: jam · bass · rush · tear · fall · rest · chest · hide

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. fall — to drop
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. chest — of your body
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bass — low music
  9. tear — to rip
  10. chest — a box
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. rest — a break
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. fall — the season
  17. tear — from crying
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bass — the fish

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