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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: chest · present · stick · bass · hand · row · dip · fall

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. dip — to sink
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. fall — to drop
  9. row — a line
  10. chest — a box
  11. bass — the fish
  12. present — a gift
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. present — there
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bass — low music
  19. fall — the season
  20. row — to paddle
  21. present — the time now
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. hand — help

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