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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 · kid · dip

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

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fork — in a road
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — child
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. mate — a friend
  12. chest — a box
  13. dip — to sink
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. mate — a partner
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. kid — to tease

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