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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: game · wave · wake · face · rest · saw · kid · ruler

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. face — part of the head
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. kid — child
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. game — a match
  10. rest — what's left
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. kid — to tease
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. face — to confront
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. rest — a break
  21. face — to point toward
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. rest — what's left

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