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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 · straw · toast · game · pop · coach · hand · mark

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. game — a match
  5. hand — in cards
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. game — wild animals
  10. pop — soda
  11. pop — to visit
  12. hand — help
  13. toast — bread
  14. pop — music
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mark — a trace
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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