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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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Word bank
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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: face · rest · firm · saw · straw · foot · degree · land

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. saw — the tool
  4. foot — a measure
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. rest — what's left
  7. saw — the tool
  8. degree — temperature
  9. land — ground
  10. rest — what's left
  11. firm — a company
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. firm — steady
  15. degree — from a university
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. face — to point toward
  19. degree — an amount
  20. face — to confront
  21. face — part of the head
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. firm — decided
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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