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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: straw · chest · rest · rock · kick · sharp · arm · game

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. game — wild animals
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rock — music
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. chest — a box
  9. sharp — clever
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rock — a stone
  13. chest — of your body
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. chest — of your body
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. kick — in football
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. game — a match

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