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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: stick · bass · chest · lie · hand · straw · pitch · rest

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. hand — help
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bass — low music
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. chest — a box
  11. lie — to recline
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pitch — completely
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. rest — a break
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. rest — what's left
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. bass — the fish

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