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

Word bank: mug · arm · cold · prune · nail · snap · straw · cabinet

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. mug — a face
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. cold — an illness
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. prune — to trim
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. mug — to rob
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. snap — to click
  22. mug — a cup
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. nail — on a finger

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