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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: nail · row · lash · rule · wax · track · cold · straw

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. nail — for a hammer
  2. rule — government
  3. wax — to grow
  4. track — to keep track
  5. cold — not warm
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. track — a path
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. row — a line
  12. rule — a law
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. track — a song
  18. row — to paddle
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. cold — an illness
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. straw — dry grass
  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