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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bound — tied together
  5. land — a country
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. fork — in a road
  8. hand — help
  9. land — ground
  10. land — to come down
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — hurry
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. track — to keep track
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bound — certain
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. track — a song
  20. bound — obliged
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. track — a path
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. hand — part of the body

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