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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: land · cue · foot · bat · pit · nail · rest · bark

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. foot — a measure
  3. cue — a signal
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. land — to come down
  6. rest — what's left
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. pit — a hole
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. rest — a break
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bark — to shout
  19. cue — for pool
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. nail — on a finger

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