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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 116 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: pound · fall · vault · straw · kid · saw · rule · face

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. fall — to drop
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. rule — a law
  6. vault — a safe
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. fall — to drop
  10. saw — the tool
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — child
  13. saw — the tool
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. pound — a weight
  17. face — to confront
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. rule — government
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. fall — the season
  24. face — part of the head

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