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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: spell · nail · staff · drill · cold · rash · hand · chair

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. drill — a practice
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rash — a series
  6. hand — help
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cold — not warm
  12. hand — in cards
  13. spell — letters
  14. staff — a stick
  15. spell — a short time
  16. drill — army training
  17. staff — employees
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. staff — employees
  20. drill — the tool
  21. chair — a leader
  22. spell — magic
  23. rash — hasty
  24. cold — an illness

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