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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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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: fall · race · bass · rush · bay · chest · net · cue

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. cue — a hint
  4. chest — a box
  5. cue — a signal
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. net — for catching
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cue — for pool
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. net — in sport
  13. bass — low music
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — the arms race
  16. rush — hurry
  17. bass — the fish
  18. net — after costs
  19. race — a contest
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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