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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: fork · face · roll · band · kid · rest · stick · straw

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. fork — in a road
  5. kid — to tease
  6. face — to point toward
  7. roll — a list
  8. face — part of the head
  9. rest — what's left
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rest — a break
  14. band — a music group
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. face — to confront
  17. rest — what's left
  18. band — a ring
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. roll — a cake

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