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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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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: kick · board · wound · cell · straw · spell · bark · nail

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. spell — a short time
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. spell — magic
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cell — a phone
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. cell — in biology
  12. wound — an injury
  13. board — to get on
  14. spell — letters
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. wound — an injury
  18. board — a committee
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. cell — in a prison

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