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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: plane · shower · swing · cap · nail · bark · hide · race

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. swing — to play on
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. shower — rain
  12. race — the arms race
  13. swing — music
  14. shower — to wash
  15. plane — a tool
  16. cap — of ice
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. swing — in golf
  19. race — a contest
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. bark — to shout
  23. race — humankind
  24. cap — a lid

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