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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: nail · can · wound · cold · fan · file · bound · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bound — certain
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. file — a line of people
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — to be able to
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. wound — an injury
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. kick — in football
  19. can — a tin
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bound — obliged
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bound — tied together
  24. cold — not warm

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