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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: bound · rest · bear · snap · face · degree · straw · game

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. face — part of the head
  3. rest — what's left
  4. game — a match
  5. bear — the animal
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. face — to confront
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bear — the animal
  10. degree — from a university
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — obliged
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. game — wild animals
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to click
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bound — tied together
  24. game — a kind of play

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