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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 124 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mark · bark · content · hand · mine · wound · craft · cold

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. craft — boats
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wound — an injury
  13. hand — in cards
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mark — a grade
  16. craft — a skill
  17. cold — not warm
  18. content — the amount
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. hand — help
  22. bark — to shout
  23. mark — a trace
  24. craft — a handicraft

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