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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: wind · cap · firm · bark · club · field · nail · rash

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. firm — steady
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a hat
  5. club — for dancing
  6. rash — a series
  7. field — a subject
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. wind — moving air
  10. club — a group
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cap — a lid
  15. field — for sport
  16. rash — hasty
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. firm — decided
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. club — for golf
  21. firm — a company
  22. field — farmland
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. wind — to turn a key

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