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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: hand · straw · ball · nail · can · game · rash · pass

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. hand — in cards
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. ball — a dance
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. can — a tin
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. game — a match
  13. hand — help
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — to be able to
  17. ball — a great time
  18. rash — a series
  19. game — wild animals
  20. pass — a permit
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. straw — dry grass

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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