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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.

Words on the sheet
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: kid · bark · hand · press · spell · nail · last · rest

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bark — to shout
  3. last — finally
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. rest — a break
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. rest — what's left
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. press — newspapers
  13. spell — magic
  14. kid — to tease
  15. press — a publisher
  16. hand — help
  17. kid — child
  18. rest — what's left
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. press — to push
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. hand — in cards
  24. spell — a short time

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