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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: shower · rash · staff · band · jam · root · chest · nail

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. chest — a box
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. band — a music group
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. shower — to wash
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. root — of a word
  13. rash — hasty
  14. band — a ring
  15. shower — rain
  16. chest — of your body
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. rash — a series
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. staff — employees
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a plant
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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