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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: bank · hand · racket · nail · craft · cold · land · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. land — a country
  5. craft — boats
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. hand — help
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. cold — not warm
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. hand — in cards
  14. cold — an illness
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bank — for money
  18. craft — a skill
  19. bank — of a river
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. rule — a law
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. bank — for money

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