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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: nail · bark · land · kid · lash · race · bass · fork

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bass — low music
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. land — to come down
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — a contest
  13. fork — in a road
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. race — the arms race
  18. kid — to tease
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. kid — child
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. land — a country
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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