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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wound — an injury
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. wound — an injury
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. toast — bread
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. scale — in music
  13. prune — to trim
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. toast — the most admired

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