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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: straw · snap · nail · plane · toast · rest · mate · hand

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. hand — in cards
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. hand — help
  17. rest — a break
  18. toast — bread
  19. plane — a tool
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mate — a friend
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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