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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: present · nail · mark · bat · straw · land · wake · chest

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. wake — a trail
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. mark — a grade
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bat — the animal
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — the time now
  15. mark — a trace
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. land — a country
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. land — to come down
  22. chest — a box
  23. present — there
  24. chest — of your body

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