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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: shower · fine · stick · nail · spell · ground · net · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. net — for catching
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. spell — letters
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cold — not warm
  9. spell — magic
  10. ground — the earth
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fine — high quality
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. net — after costs
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. ground — crushed
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. shower — rain
  19. spell — a short time
  20. shower — to wash
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. ground — a position
  23. net — in sport
  24. fine — all right

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