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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 120 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: kick · lean · ground · nail · hand · bank · race · tear

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. ground — crushed
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. ground — the earth
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. tear — from crying
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. bank — of a river
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. tear — from crying
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. tear — to rip
  17. ground — a position
  18. bank — for money
  19. kick — in football
  20. race — the arms race
  21. lean — thin
  22. bank — for money
  23. hand — help
  24. nail — for a hammer

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