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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 120 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: fork · shower · field · straw · nail · tear · bowl · last

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. last — to go on
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. tear — from crying
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. tear — to rip
  12. field — farmland
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. fork — in a road
  15. shower — to wash
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. tear — from crying
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. field — a subject
  20. last — final
  21. shower — rain
  22. last — finally
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. bowl — a dish

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