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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 120 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: last · chest · cap · nail · rush · bark · mark · track

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. cap — a hat
  4. chest — a box
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — hurry
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bark — to shout
  11. chest — of your body
  12. track — a song
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — a trace
  15. last — final
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a path
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. cap — a lid
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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