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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: board · nail · straw · ground · band · hand · can · prune

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. ground — the earth
  4. board — a committee
  5. band — a music group
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — a position
  8. hand — help
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. board — to get on
  16. can — to be able to
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. hand — in cards
  21. can — a tin
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. band — a ring

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