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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: pound · game · face · saw · straw · bowl · rest · arm

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  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. face — to point toward
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — a weight
  8. rest — what's left
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. rest — a break
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. face — to confront
  17. game — a match
  18. face — part of the head
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. rest — what's left
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bowl — a football final
  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