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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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Word bank
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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: chest · net · straw · pop · kick · bowl · mug · saw

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. net — for catching
  3. chest — of your body
  4. net — after costs
  5. mug — a face
  6. net — in sport
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. pop — music
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. pop — to visit
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pop — soda
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. mug — to rob
  17. saw — the tool
  18. chest — of your body
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. chest — a box
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. mug — a cup

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