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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: cell · craft · ball · bass · rash · fall · chest · bat

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bass — the fish
  3. craft — a skill
  4. bat — the animal
  5. ball — a dance
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bass — low music
  8. ball — a great time
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. rash — a series
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. craft — boats
  19. fall — the season
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. chest — a box
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. fall — to drop

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