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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: track · straw · pitcher · spring · pound · rest · saw · nail

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. track — a path
  7. rest — what's left
  8. spring — of water
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. rest — what's left
  11. saw — the tool
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. pound — a weight
  18. rest — a break
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. track — a song
  22. track — to keep track
  23. saw — the tool
  24. nail — for a hammer

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