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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 · land · fan · toast · hand · content · pitcher · saw

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. land — a country
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. land — to come down
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. toast — bread
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. saw — the tool
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. land — ground
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. content — happy
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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