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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 120 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: scale · nail · pass · lie · land · staff · cold · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pass — a permit
  3. cold — an illness
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — a stick
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. lie — to recline
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. staff — employees
  12. land — a country
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. land — ground
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. rash — a series
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. cold — not warm
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  24. land — to come down

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