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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: nail · wax · straw · band · roll · bear · track · hand

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bear — the animal
  7. roll — a list
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. wax — to grow
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. track — a song
  18. hand — help
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. track — a path
  21. band — a music group
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. roll — a cake
  24. track — to keep track

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