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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: land · tube · nail · net · straw · rash · calf · drill

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. land — ground
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. tube — the underground
  6. drill — a practice
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. drill — the tool
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. drill — army training
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — in sport
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — a container
  19. rash — a series
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. rash — hasty
  24. net — for catching

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