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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 · club · wind · squash · chest · scale · fall · ball

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. chest — of your body
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. ball — a great time
  6. chest — a box
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. squash — the sport
  9. wind — moving air
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. club — for golf
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. fall — to drop
  14. squash — to crush
  15. fall — the season
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. wind — moving air
  18. scale — in music
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — a group
  21. ball — a dance
  22. fall — to drop
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. chest — of your 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