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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: nail · clip · hide · march · hand · bark · rush · scale

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. march — the month
  4. clip — to cut
  5. scale — in music
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rush — hurry
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. clip — for paper
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. hand — help
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. clip — a video
  21. scale — size or range
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. scale — for weighing

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