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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: band · mate · straw · hand · saw · rest · fork · wake

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. saw — the tool
  6. band — a ring
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. mate — a friend
  10. fork — in a road
  11. rest — what's left
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. wake — a trail
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. saw — the tool
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. band — a music group
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. mate — a partner
  23. mate — to breed
  24. rest — a break

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