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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: bowl · straw · hide · land · bass · chest · fall · content

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bass — the fish
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. land — ground
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. land — to come down
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. chest — a box
  16. land — a country
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — happy
  23. content — the amount
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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