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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · key · straw · march · capital · rush · chest · object

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. rush — hurry
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. object — an aim
  10. chest — of your body
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — the most important part
  16. march — the month
  17. key — in music
  18. capital — a city
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. chest — a box
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. object — to protest
  23. capital — money
  24. object — a thing

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