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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stick · game · wake · hand · straw · nail · arm · band

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. band — a ring
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. wake — a trail
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. game — a match
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a music group
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. game — wild animals
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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