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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: straw · shower · mine · content · deal · field · toast · nail

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. mine — for digging
  7. field — for sport
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. shower — rain
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. content — happy
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. deal — to handle
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. toast — bread
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. field — farmland
  20. content — the amount
  21. field — a subject
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. shower — to wash
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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