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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: row · leaves · bat · bay · cold · nail · track · ball

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. ball — a dance
  3. cold — not warm
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. ball — a great time
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. track — a song
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. row — a line
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bat — the animal
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. track — a path
  23. track — to keep track
  24. cold — the Cold War

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