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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: present · bark · cold · rock · hand · face · rash · nail

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. rock — a stone
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bark — to shout
  5. hand — in cards
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to point toward
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. present — the time now
  10. rock — music
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. present — there
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. present — a gift
  16. cold — an illness
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. face — to confront
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. rash — a series
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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