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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.

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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: can · cold · bat · kick · file · stick · nail · bark

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. can — to be able to
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. kick — in football
  12. cold — an illness
  13. file — a document
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. can — a tin
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. file — a tool
  20. bat — the animal
  21. can — a tin
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. file — a line of people

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