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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. kid — to tease
  3. firm — a company
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — obliged
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bound — certain
  10. firm — steady
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. kid — child
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. band — a music group
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. row — a line
  19. firm — decided
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a ring
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. stem — to come from

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