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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: stock · snap · nail · wind · mine · straw · band · sharp

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. snap — to click
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mine — for digging
  14. stock — goods
  15. sharp — clever
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. wind — moving air
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. stock — shares
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. band — a ring
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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