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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: fall · coach · straw · chest · rock · ruler · season · bass

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — the fish
  5. chest — of your body
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. fall — the season
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. rock — a stone
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. fall — to drop
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. rock — music
  16. season — in sport
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bass — low music
  22. season — of the year
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. chest — a box

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