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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
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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: bark · spell · field · wound · last · track · bay · hide

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. track — a song
  6. track — to keep track
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. track — a path
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. field — for sport
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. wound — an injury
  14. spell — a short time
  15. last — to go on
  16. wound — an injury
  17. field — a subject
  18. last — final
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. last — finally
  22. field — farmland
  23. spell — magic
  24. bark — to shout

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