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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: bay · object · shower · fall · chest · bass · swing · bound

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bass — the fish
  4. chest — of your body
  5. object — a thing
  6. swing — to play on
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bound — tied together
  9. chest — a box
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — certain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. swing — music
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. swing — in golf
  19. object — an aim
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. object — to protest
  23. shower — rain
  24. fall — the season

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