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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: hide · face · fork · firm · saw · wake · chair · straw

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. firm — a company
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. face — to confront
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. fork — in a road
  8. firm — decided
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. chair — a leader
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. face — part of the head
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wake — a trail
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. face — to point toward
  24. firm — steady

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