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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: nail · hand · pitch · bear · bark · cold · snap · suit

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. suit — in cards
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bear — the animal
  11. suit — to fit
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bark — to shout
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bear — the animal
  20. hand — help
  21. snap — to click
  22. suit — clothes
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. nail — for a hammer

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