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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: cold · trunk · lash · stick · bass · hide · ground · nail

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. cold — not warm
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cold — an illness
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. ground — a position
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. ground — crushed
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bass — the fish
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. bass — low music
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. ground — the earth
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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