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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: mouse · hand · capital · nail · trunk · bark · lean · rush

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bark — to shout
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. lean — thin
  9. capital — a city
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. capital — money
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. lean — to bend
  24. mouse — the animal

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