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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: straw · fork · spell · mark · tear · bark · ground · hide

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. tear — from crying
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. spell — magic
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. mark — a trace
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. spell — letters
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mark — a grade
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — the earth
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bark — to shout
  23. ground — crushed
  24. straw — a straw man

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