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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: straw · mouse · bass · board · cabinet · cold · foot · fall

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. foot — a measure
  11. cold — not warm
  12. board — a committee
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. bass — the fish
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. board — to get on
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. fall — to drop
  24. foot — part of the body

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