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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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468
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 · leaves · cell · kick · bat · lie · can · bark

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. cell — a phone
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. kick — in football
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. lie — to recline
  14. cell — in biology
  15. can — a tin
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. can — a tin
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. bat — the animal

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