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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · cell · degree · wound · straw · fall · bound · rash

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cell — a phone
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. rash — hasty
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the fish
  12. cell — in biology
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bound — certain
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bound — obliged
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bound — tied together
  23. degree — from a university
  24. rash — a series

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