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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. race — humankind
  5. cue — for pool
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cue — a signal
  9. scale — in music
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. hand — help
  14. bark — to shout
  15. race — a contest
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. race — the arms race
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. scale — size or range
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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