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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: nail · hide · cell · march · wake · spring · ball · kid

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. cell — in biology
  7. march — the month
  8. spring — of water
  9. march — music
  10. kid — to tease
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. ball — a great time
  16. cell — a phone
  17. kid — child
  18. ball — a dance
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. wake — a trail
  24. march — the month

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