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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 120 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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. object — an aim
  3. mate — a friend
  4. object — to protest
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mate — a partner
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. band — a music group
  14. hand — help
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bark — to shout
  18. cold — an illness
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. mate — to breed
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. band — a ring
  23. cold — not warm
  24. object — a thing

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