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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: nail · stock · file · bound · chest · snap · straw · shower

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. file — a tool
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. chest — of your body
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. shower — rain
  7. file — a document
  8. shower — to wash
  9. snap — to click
  10. file — a line of people
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. chest — a box
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bound — obliged
  16. stock — goods
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bound — certain
  19. stock — shares
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. chest — of your body
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bound — tied together
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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