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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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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 · bear · nail · content · drill · cap · bark · chair

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bark — to shout
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. drill — a practice
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cap — a lid
  15. content — the amount
  16. bear — the animal
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — a leader
  19. content — happy
  20. cap — of ice
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — the tool
  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