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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: plane · hand · mug · nail · cold · stand · shower · current

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. hand — help
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. hand — in cards
  7. shower — rain
  8. plane — a tool
  9. cold — an illness
  10. current — electric
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. shower — to wash
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mug — to rob
  16. current — happening now
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. mug — a face
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. mug — a cup
  22. current — of water
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. stand — to bear

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