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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 · ground · field · bark · row · mug · bore · rash

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. row — to paddle
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bark — to shout
  7. mug — a face
  8. rash — hasty
  9. ground — a position
  10. mug — a cup
  11. ground — the earth
  12. mug — to rob
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bore — to drill
  15. ground — crushed
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. field — for sport
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. rash — a series
  22. row — a line
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. hide — animal skin

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