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

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. date — the fruit
  3. cold — not warm
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. can — a tin
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. can — a tin
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cold — an illness
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. mine — for digging
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. can — to be able to
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bark — of a tree

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