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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 120 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: mate · ground · object · nail · straw · hand · last · mug

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. ground — crushed
  3. object — to protest
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. object — a thing
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. ground — the earth
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. last — finally
  10. mug — a cup
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. last — to go on
  13. mate — a friend
  14. hand — in cards
  15. mate — to breed
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. object — an aim
  18. mate — a partner
  19. ground — a position
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. mug — to rob
  22. mug — a face
  23. hand — help
  24. straw — a straw man

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