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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: fall · face · dip · stick · straw · snap · coach · saw

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. dip — to sink
  12. fall — the season
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fall — to drop
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — to point toward
  21. saw — the tool
  22. face — part of the head
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. fall — to drop

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