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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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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: bark · fall · wind · wake · mouse · kid · nail · wound

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wake — a trail
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wind — moving air
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fall — the season
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — before a funeral

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