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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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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: mate · shower · stock · bore · tube · nail · straw · face

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mate — to breed
  4. shower — rain
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. face — to point toward
  7. shower — to wash
  8. face — part of the head
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bore — to drill
  11. face — to confront
  12. stock — shares
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. mate — a partner
  18. bore — to tire
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. tube — a container
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. straw — dry grass

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