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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: net · chest · file · rash · nail · shower · staff · bound

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bound — certain
  4. chest — a box
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. bound — obliged
  8. staff — employees
  9. net — for catching
  10. rash — a series
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rash — hasty
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. net — in sport
  18. bound — tied together
  19. staff — a stick
  20. net — after costs
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. file — a tool
  23. shower — rain
  24. chest — of your body

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