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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.

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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: hide · mine · mark · foot · tear · bark · court · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — of law
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bark — to shout
  11. foot — a measure
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. mark — a grade
  15. tear — to rip
  16. mine — for digging
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. mark — a trace
  22. court — for sport
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. hide — to keep secret

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