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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cold · rash · nail · plane · fine · hand · bark · club

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. hand — in cards
  3. fine — all right
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. hand — help
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. rash — a series
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. club — a group
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. club — for dancing
  19. fine — high quality
  20. plane — a tool
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. club — for golf
  23. bark — to shout
  24. rash — hasty

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