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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 120 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: deal · land · bark · kid · fine · mug · cold · nail

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. fine — all right
  4. mug — a cup
  5. bark — to shout
  6. kid — child
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. mug — a face
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. cold — an illness
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. kid — to tease
  16. cold — not warm
  17. land — a country
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. mug — to rob
  20. fine — high quality
  21. land — ground
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. deal — to handle
  24. land — to come down

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