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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: wind · fork · straw · mouse · chest · mate

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — to breed
  9. fork — in a road
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. chest — a box
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mate — a partner
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chest — of your body

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