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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: fine · wave · hand · shower · straw · nail · staff · band

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. band — a ring
  3. fine — all right
  4. staff — employees
  5. fine — high quality
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. hand — help
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. hand — in cards
  12. staff — employees
  13. shower — rain
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a music group
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. staff — a stick
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. shower — to wash

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