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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: net · swing · nail · ball · shower · bark · ground · rash

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. ball — a great time
  3. shower — to wash
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. ball — a dance
  6. swing — music
  7. bark — to shout
  8. rash — a series
  9. swing — in golf
  10. ground — a position
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — after costs
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. shower — rain
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. rash — hasty
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — the earth
  19. net — in sport
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. swing — to play on

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