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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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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: bark · kid · cap · kick · rash · mouse · nail · fall

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. cap — a lid
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. fall — the season
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cap — of ice
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. kick — in football
  16. cap — a hat
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. bark — to shout
  19. rash — a series
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rash — hasty
  23. fall — to drop
  24. mouse — for a computer

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