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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: cap · ball · pop · land · band · bark · nail · hide

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cap — of ice
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cap — a hat
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. ball — a great time
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. band — a ring
  16. cap — a lid
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — soda
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. land — a country
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. band — a music group

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