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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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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: straw · roll · hand · rest · saw · perch · row · chest

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. perch — the fish
  3. saw — the tool
  4. rest — a break
  5. hand — in cards
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. roll — a cake
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. row — to paddle
  10. chest — a box
  11. roll — a list
  12. row — a line
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. chest — of your body
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. hand — help
  24. saw — the tool

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