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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 116 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: bat · march · nail · fine · wake · rash · wound · root

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rash — a series
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. rash — hasty
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — the cause
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. march — the month
  15. fine — high quality
  16. root — of a plant
  17. march — the month
  18. fine — all right
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. march — music
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bat — for baseball

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