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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 · fall · rash · band · bark · stand · present · cold

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cold — an illness
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. stand — to bear
  6. band — a ring
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — to shout
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. cold — not warm
  12. present — a gift
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. rash — hasty
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. rash — a series
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. fall — the season
  22. band — a music group
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. nail — for a hammer

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