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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 120 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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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: rest · fall · board · bass · squash · chest · tube · straw

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. tube — a container
  4. chest — a box
  5. board — a committee
  6. squash — to crush
  7. rest — what's left
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. rest — a break
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. fall — to drop
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bass — the fish
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. fall — the season
  17. tube — the underground
  18. board — to get on
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bass — low music
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. fall — to drop
  23. chest — of your body
  24. rest — what's left

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