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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: ground · bear · clip · hide · cold · nail · bowl · fork

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. clip — a video
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. fork — in a road
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. ground — a position
  17. cold — an illness
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. ground — the earth
  24. bowl — a football final

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