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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: bowl · chest · suit · tear · straw · wound · date · nail

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. suit — to fit
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wound — an injury
  7. chest — of your body
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. tear — to rip
  12. chest — of your body
  13. tear — from crying
  14. suit — in cards
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. chest — a box
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. date — the fruit
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. suit — clothes
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bowl — a dish

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