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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  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. nail — for a hammer
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. fork — in a road
  7. rock — a stone
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. rock — music
  11. cold — an illness
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hand — help
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. wake — a trail
  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