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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: mouse · kick · rest · game · fork · bowl · face · straw

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. face — to confront
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. game — a match
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. face — to point toward
  13. kick — in football
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. face — part of the head
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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