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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: bass · cold · foot · nail · hand · mate · bark · leaves

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. bass — low music
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. hand — help
  7. foot — a measure
  8. bark — to shout
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. mate — to breed
  13. bass — the fish
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. mate — a partner
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cold — not warm

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