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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: bass · chest · bat · ground · coach · key · face · rush

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bass — the fish
  3. ground — the earth
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. key — for a lock
  6. chest — a box
  7. ground — a position
  8. rush — hurry
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — part of the head
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. key — in music
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bass — low music
  19. face — to confront
  20. ground — crushed
  21. chest — of your body
  22. key — the most important part
  23. chest — of your body
  24. rush — to hurry

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